Broken Promises
by CandyGirl1980
Summary: Dean and Sam Winchester are on their way to their next challenge when they almost drive over a young pregnant woman, who´s on the run from the FBI.
1. Chapter 1

**Title****: Broken Promises**

**Subtitle: **How one bad move can lead your life to places you didn´t even know existed

**Author**CandyGirl 1980

**Rating**Mature

**Couple: **M/D/ and S at first and then M/M. Small appearances of the others.

**Summary**Dean and Sam Winchester are just coming from a exorcism from a dangerous ghost in Carlsbad, when a young pregant woman almost runs in their car. Her feet are bare and the only clothes she´s wearing is a white nightgown. Her eyes look panicked at the two men before she stormes away again. Mildly scared the brothers step out of the car and watch where the girl had disappeared. Without thinking they follow her and help her escape from her chaser. From this moment on their lifes goes a little different than they think

**Disclaimer**Ok, neither Supernatural nor Roswell belong to me. Although it wouldn´t be so bad if it did. Then I could play with the hottest guys on tv.

**Author´s Note**I already work on too much stories, but this thing was bothering me for a while now and I knew that I just would get it away when I would write it. I promise that I don´t neglect my other stories. And I have to warn you, I only saw three episodes of supernatural, because it started so late in germany. But I already love it and wish they would show it daily instead of weekly. Well, I´m shutting up now.

**Chapter one **

A black car was slowly driving along the deserted street out of Roswell. The headlights the only thing visible in the dark night tainting the bare scenery black. It was nothing interesting to discover anything anyway. There were just sand, cactuses, more sand and more cactuses. Far and wide no civilisation or some sign that someone with a soul was living here, well with the exception of the crawling creatures. Dean Winchester, a good looking young man, sat behind the wheel of his beloved car. A black 1967 Chevy Impala, completely restored. He had done that when his father had been still with him, the time before he disappeared with a cryptic call on his sons cellhphone. Usually it was normal that John Winchester was gone for a few days, considering the job he was doing, hunting demon until he found the murderer of his wife, but this time Dean knew that something had been not right. He hadn´t heard his father this strange since his mother went up in flames twenty years ago. Now he was searching for his missing parental unit with his little brother Sam, who was sleeping soundlessly on the passenger side with his head comfortly lying on his crumpled jacket. Almost three months the two boys were looking for clues to find their father. But all they found were weird situations and many demons in all variations. Some were downright nasty and others from the almost cute kind. But they all had been majorly dangerous, no matter how they looked like. Right now they came from a exorcism in Carlsbad. A young girl had been possessed from an angry ghost and killed the people who it thought were responsible for its death. Thankfully they could stop everything without killing the innocent girl in the process and nobody got hurt. Okay, Sam had a few scratches and he himself sported a nice black eye, but all in all, they had been lucky this time. They already looked worse, especially when they meet with Bloody Mary. She had been a hard case and almost cost them their lifes. But in the end they made it like usually. No evil had a chance against them. Dean smiled at the thought. They should make a theme song for themself, like nobody beats the winchester boys or who is scared of the winchesters. Yeah that would be really cool. Maybe they could print their faces on t-shirts or cups, too. At that he started to chuckle slightly. It wasn´t good when he was alone with his thoughts, it always let him come up with the strangest things. He should wake his brother, so that he wasn´t so bored any longer. Slowly Dean turned the volume of his Metallica song up until "One", was blaring through the whole car.

Sam woke with a start and jumped up with his torso startled. Wildly looking around he searched for the hurt person. Not finding anything, he turned to his brother. " What the hell! Why did you scare me to death, dude".

" I was bored and I started to think too much".

Sam rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Man, he had been having such a nice dream. He finally dreamed about something nice for the change and then his stupid brother had to wake him. Jerk. " What you need is a girlfriend. Or therapy".

Dean turned his head around and smirked at his sibling. He didn´t need a girlfriend, not when so much beautiful girls were outside just waiting for him. And the therapy thing, hell he would make a therapist rich with the many problems he had. " Hey, no need to get nasty, bro. What I need is getting laid. It has already been two days since I had this really great blonde in the sack".

" Oh stop! I don´t need to hear about your sexual excesses", Sam put his hands over his ears. There were things he didn´t want to know about his brother. He had enough from the time when he accidently stepped onto something. And although he hadn´t seen anything, the noises gave him nightmares for days.

Dean shook his head while he turned his eyes back on the road again. Shit, his brother should finally take the stick out of his ass and live a little. Smiling at the mental picture, he looked around the scenery. Suddenly he saw a black shadow move fastly from the side. Immediately he stepped on the brake, just in time to avoid hitting a small girl, who had put her hands on the hood of the impala to prevent herself from getting hurt. For a she stared directly in his eyes and he saw the panic there. The light was illuminating her features and he finally noticed that she was pregnant, just dressed with a white nightgown and her hair was lifelessly hanging from her head. It was the green eyes that touched something inside him. But before he could make a move, the girl stormed away again.

" What the hell was that?", Sam had never seen such a thing and he had witnessed the strangest things. Something with the girl had been totally weird. She had been scared, so much was clear. But from what?.

Dean didn´t say a word while he stepped out of the car. He couldn´t leave this girl alone here in this hell and especially not in her condition. Maybe it was his instinct to save the innocent or even his human trait, but he promised himself to help her. Carefully he opened the trunk and searched for his favourite gun. When he found it, he checked everything before putting it in the back of his jeans and pulling his black leatherjacket over it.

" Dean. What are you doing?", Sam finally hauled his butt out of the Impala and followed his brother. It wasn´t so smart to chase someone in the middle of nowhere and in the dark. At least not if they didn´t know the surroundings. This much he learned from his father.

Dean closed the trunk forcefully and turned his face around. " We have to find this girl. Something tells me that we have to help her. I don´t care if you go with me. I will do it with or without you".

Sam huffed for a few seconds before he nodded at his brother. " All right. We both go".

While Dean shut off the lights of the car and got the keys, Sam got his weapon from the trunk. Then they both went after the girl, hoping that their instincts would lead them through the darkness. Carefully and ready to use violence if neccessary they both chased after the fast moving dark point in front of them. All of the sudden a few shots were heard from somewhere in the distant. Immediately Dean pulled his gun out of his waistband and made sure that his brother was at his side. Then they saw the girl falling on the ground and not getting back up. The shots seemed to came from near them and they weren´t too keen on this fact. Especially when they didn´t had anything that would hide them from the shooters.

" I´ll check the girl, you keep the scenery in sight", Sam kneeled down besides the fallen lump on the floor. As soon as his hand touched her cold skin, she started to shrink away from him and whimpered afraid. " Hey, don´t worry. We don´t want to hurt you".

The girl turned her eyes in his direction, like she wanted to see for herself that it was true what he said. After a few seconds she shook her head. " That´s what they always said and they never stuck to that. I don´t want to get back. Please don´t force me to go back again".

Dean let his sight waver for a moment when he heard the pleading. He wondered what monster would do something like that. He caught the eye of his brother and saw the confusion written in there. " We have to get her away from here. She´s not safe and so are we if we stay here".

Sam nodded relieved while he stripped off his jacket to wrap it around the freezing body of their new case. Carefully he lifted her from the floor and watched as his brother suddenly raised his weapon and shoot at something. The sound was so loud that the girl startled and pressed herself tighter at Sam. Seconds later they heard a grunt and something crashing on the ground, closely followed by more shooting. Dean knew that they were in disadvantage and they chances of not getting hurt were pretty slim, the reason why he gripped his brother and they dashed into the safety of the darkness. Although nothing near them could used as a shelter, they knew that they had to get away from the people shooting at them. And because they didn´t know how much they had to expect and their sight was a little limited, they ran like the devil himself was after them. But as much as they strained themself to move fast, the night and the unfamiliar area were making them slow, not to mention the added weight Sam had to carry. Suddenly the girl in his arms lifted her arm and shoot a green ball behind them. Both brothers startled when they heard something that sounded like an explosion. Unfortunately the force of it was so strong that they got knocked out from it.

" Sam? Are you all right?".

" Yeah, I think", Sam raised his head and looked to his brother, who was in the process to stand up again. Holy fk, what had just happened. Slowly he turned to the girl, lying a little away from him now, because he had dropped her during his crash on the ground. She seemed to be knocked out. " What is going on here?".

Dean looked around now that he could see something, after the fire ball spent a little light. As much as he could see, they were absolutely alone. Strange, he heard gun shoots and one of the bullet almost hit him. He looked down at the small hole in his leather jacket. But where were those guys? " I don´t know Dude. But we´re finding it out".

Sam jumped to his feets and tapped the sand from his clothes. Now he saw the little fire himself. Curiously he went to it, because he never saw a fire that burned green. When he was really close he noticed that he wasn´t greeted with heat like it was usually with fire. No, the flames felt kinda like a balmy breeze. Carefully he stretched his hand out and put it through the it and nothing happened. No pain, no burns, just this tingly feeling. Then finally he saw what was behind the fire. A huge hole. " Dean come here. You have to see that".

" What is it?", Dean, who had been checking the girl and eyed her injures, which were looking kinda nasty, sprinted to his brother. He was still wondering who would do that and how they could stop them.

Sam pointed at the gap in the desert ground. " You won´t believe who shooted at us".

Dean was thrown for a moment when he saw his brother putting his arm through the fire. But he couldn´t be surprised anymore. He had seen so much already, that nothing could faze him. However when he looked into the hole under him, he had to admit he was shocked for a moment. " Oh shit! Are you trying to tell me the FBI was behind this little slip of a girl?".

" Seems that way", Sam was tempted to jump down there to see if the men were still alive. But he was sure that it was better to make a hasty retreat, because there could be more of those agents on the way right now. " We better go".

Dean let his gaze wander around them. His brother was right, they should be gone before it dawned. It was better when nobody saw them here. " Get the car and I get the girl".

Sam waited until he got the keys and then walked to the Impala. He was still in shock about the events happening tonight. All he knew was that the girl was not what she appeared to be. But strangly she didn´t feel dangerous in any kind. And his brother seemed to have finally found his softer side.

Dean meanwhile kneeled besides the young woman and brushed the dirty hair from her face. She was beautiful, even if it was hidden behind bloody spots and dirt. Tenderly he let his hand wander down to her round belly. For someone pregnant she was pretty skinny, like she hadn´t eaten enough. He couldn´t believe that human beings would do something like to an innocent creature. Especially such as her. " From now on you´re under our protection. I promise that", then he lifted her in his arms just in the moment when Sam came back with the car. Together the brothers made her comfortable on the backseat before they drove away from the darkness.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanx to magicisagift, Fashiongurl3188, emma134, vampout, Magali and RedJewel2662 for the nice feedback. ****Here´s the next chapter, hope you enjoy**

**Chapter 2**

Sam was sitting behind the wheel and watched the street. They had been driving for hours straight now and it finally looked like they would come to a town. Thank god, he was so sick of the same scenery passing him by. His brother had been no help at all. He was observing the girl in the backseat since they left the desert with no break. It was like he was afraid that she would disappear when he looked away. Strange, Dean was acting pretty weird even for his standards.

" What should we do with her?", Sam broke the heavy silence filling the car. It was finally getting on his nerves to listen to the sand wandering from one place to another.

For the first time for hours Dean turned his head around and stared at this brother. His expression was already giving away that he thought about something. " We can´t leave her alone. The FBI is after her and if we abandon her somewhere they will get her".

Sam sighed slightly annoyed. Damn, his brother was either possessed or got knocked on the head really hard. How could they care for a young pregnant girl when they just barely pulled them through all this shit themself? " So what are you suggesting? Take her with us? Be real Dean. We can´t do that".

" And why not? She could be helpful, you saw what she can do", Dean had pondered over this thing since they drove away from the desert. He had seen the panic in her eyes and it had touched a part of him that he never knew existed. A part that hated the killing and the deaths. The part that still mourned the loss of his mother.

Sam shook his head forcefully. Did his brother listen to the things coming out of his mouth? Because it didn´t sounded like that to him. " She could be a demon. What if we fall asleep and she kills us while we sleep? She could be dangerous for all we know".

Dean glared at him. Why couldn´t they agree on something for once, just for once. All right he could admit he was rather the instinctive kind of guy while Sam thought and then acted. But this time all his senses told him that their passenger was not of demonic nature. " She´s not. Besides since when does the FBI keep demons prisoner? Trust me on this. I can´t explain what it is, but I feel something towards her".

" Is this because you want to get laid? If yes, then I will personally give you the money for some professional help".

Dean was tempted to slug his brother on the back of his head. How could he even think that about him at all? He had other things on his mind than just sex and beautiful girls. " How can you say that to me? It´s not about getting laid. I can´t describe it, but it´s nothing sexual, believe me".

Sam tried to understand him. But everything sounded like rubbish to him. " Okay, sorry. But how else do you explain your weird behaviour?".

" I don´t. You were the one in college, maybe you know it", Dean was so irritated with his younger sibling. The boy was driving him nuts sometimes. Well, most of the time, but that was the curse of the little brothers.

Sam was just in the process to retort something nasty back when he noticed the lump in the backseat was moving. Curiously he looked in the review mirror and waited until the girl opened her eyes. He regnorized the moment when she realized that she was in a moving car. " I think our passanger finally decided to join the living again".

Immediately Dean whirled around and watched as she looked around with a paniced expression on her face. " Hey sleepyhead".

" Where am I? What I´m doing here and who are you?", the girl put herself as far away from the men as she could. Protectively she laid a hand over her belly.

Dean held his hands in the air as a sign that they wouldn´t hurt her and that she could trust them. " We found you remember. You were running away from those agents and we took you with us"

The girl shook her head while she tried to remember what happened the night before. With shaking hands she rubbed her face and noticed them smeared with blood. Suddenly everything started coming back to her. " Where´s Jesse? What have you done to him?".

" Jesse? I don´t know what you´re talking about. You were alone", Dean exchanged a worried glance with his brother. Maybe it had been her husband or at least the father of her child? But the fact that he left her alone was a bad sign. When the agents had been after them both, the possibility that he was dead was high.

At that the girl started to cry softly, already knowing herself what it meant. He hadn´t made it. Sam stared in the review mirror and he felt kinda bad for her. Something horrible must have been happening to her. He just saw her eyes from the distance, but he saw enough to know that this girl went through hell and he finally understood what his brother wanted to tell him. They couldn´t left her alone to deal, her and her baby.

Dean felt a little uncomfortable and wished he would sit behind the wheel, because he wasn´t a sensitive kind of guy. He didn´t know what he should say in such moments or what he could do. That was more like the job his brother was good in. " Hey, don´t cry. You should be happy that you are free".

" Free? Do you think just because I´m out of my prison that I´m free?", the girl glared angrily through her red rimmed eyes at him. She lost a good friend and so much time. She couldn´t go to her home again for as long as she lived.

Dean threw a helpless glance at his brother. He was out of his water right now and didn´t know what was the most appropiate thing to say. But Sam was no help and just pretended to concentrate on the street. Bastard! " I´m sorry".

The girl saw the confusion on the mans face and she had to think about the boy, who had stolen her heart so long ago. He was exactly so clueless like this version here, the same expression and the same gestures. If she wouldn´t be so scared and hungry, she would have found it funny. " Who are you people by the way?".

" My name is Dean Winchester and besides me is my little brother Sam".

The girl eyed both and she couldn´t find an indication that they were related. But she had to admit they were good looking, each on his own way. Dean appeared more rough around the edge, a real women magnet. Whereas Sam appeared more like an highschool boy. He was a little reminding her about another friend of hers. " Nice. My name is Maria DeLuca".

Dean leaned more on the front seat and threw her his oscar winning smile. He was just in the process to use one of his pick up lines on her, when his brother punched his shoulder. Angrily he turned to the driver. " What?".

" Ask her", Sam tried to tell him something with his eyes. But obviously they still had to work on their silent communication.

Dean sighed annoyed at his brother. Man, nobody granted him a little fun. Hell, it had been a long time that he showed an interest in a girl without already picturing her nude and wiggling under him. Damn, now he had a new fantasy in his head, thanks to idiotic bastard besides him. " We saw what you did, you know making this explosion and burning a whole in the desert ground. So we want to know what you are?".

Maria felt panic well up in her at the question and she feared that they were after her, too. But she couldn´t feel anything threatening from her saviour. Besides they knew what she was capable of and wouldn´t try anything. " I´m human, what else".

" Nice try. But how many humans do you know who can shot blast from their hands and provoke an explosion?", Sam had pity with his older brother and helped him. After all Dean wasn´t the talking and questioning kind of guy. That was more his thing.

Maria sensed her son preparing his power to protect his mommy. He had done that since she hit her fifth month. As soon as she started to get scared or was afraid of something, he would send a blast out and hurt anybody close to her. Calmly she put her hand on her belly to tell him that everything was fine. For now at least. "Depends. How many stupid idiots you know who would take a stranger with powers with them?".

Dean hid his snigger behind a cough. Touche. The girl was tougher than she had appeared at first. He already liked her and her spunk. She would be a nice addition to their demon hunting group. " You have a point there. But we saw already too much supernatural, so we just want to be sure that you´re not dangerous".

" What are you? The freak police or something? Do you always ask such stupid question to girls you barely know?", Maria would stall as long as she could. She wouldn´t tell them anything about her. Hopefully they would stop somewhere and she could escape those strange boys.

Sam was finally feed up with her. Pregnant or not she couldn´t just treat them like they would have kidnapped her. " Hey, we saved your ass out there and risked getting shot at! At least you can tell us what your deal is".

Maria was mulling over that. She was absolute sure that she wouldn´t tell them anything about her or the time in the base, because for one, it wasn´t their business and two she wouldn´t risk the life of her unborn child. But she didn´t want them to think she was bad. " How about that. I´m not dangerous and I don´t kill you while you sleep".

" Why did you say that? Are you psychic?", Dean was impressed about the small slip of a girl. He had seen the panic and the fear in her expression and now he wasn´t so sure if she really needed their help at all. She said she wouldn´t kill them, but he noticed the glint in her eyes and that meant she would do everything to protect her child and herself.

Maria was slightly amused about the brothers. They were pretty much different. Whereas the older was charming and curious, the younger was more keeping back and trying to intimidate her with the good cop, bad cop routine, which of course he shouldn´t do. " No. I was long awake before you notice it. Did you know that your both bickering like an old married couple?".

Sam send his brother a death glare and dared him to open his big fat mouth. They weren´t behaving like that. It was just sometimes they got into a small discusion, which could extend to a full blown fight. But they were siblings and it wasn´t that unusal to have arguments. " No we don´t. We´re just on the road in this small car for a long time now and we have to let a little steam out once in a while".

" Now that you mention it. Why did you drive this road at this time of the night and were armed with weapons? And what did you mean with supernatural?", Maria finally realized except for the name she didn´t know anything about this men. They could be rapist or murderer for all she knew. Well, she didn´t got dangerous vibes from them, but that didn´t mean anything.

Dean exchanged a questioning glance with his brother to ask if it was okay with him if he told her the truth. When he received a nod he turned around to Maria. If they took her with them, she should at least know what was going on. " We´re demon hunters".

Maria stared at him like he just told her he was a crossdresser. For one unbelievable seconds she thought he was honest. But then she thought about the statement and finally realized how ridiculous that sounded. Demons, phh, like they were real. Then she heard a quiet voice in the back of her mind saying, that she reacted like that when Liz told her about the podsquad. And that had been the truth. " Okay. And who pays you for that? The watcher counsil?".

" We don´t get paid for anything. We doing it for free", Sam was distracted at the moment when he spottet a nice hotel they could crash, so he didn´t notice the obvious sarcasmus.

Dean shook his head at his brother. They boy was sometimes so clueless. No wonder he had to go to college. There he would at least learned something useful. " Dude, she´s pulling our leg. She doesn´t believe us".

Maria just wanted to reply that who in their right mind would believe them, when she doubled over. Her son was telling his mommy that he was hungy with his feet and needed something to eat. Damn he was really the kid of Michael Guerin, demanding everything without looking out for the feelings of others. Breathing through the pain she waited until her son settled down again and gave her a small break. After the pain vanished and her innwards didn´t feel like a punching bag anymore she looked up and noticed the concerned looks sent her way. Rubbing her face with both hands she realized that she would need their help for now. For one, she had no money, no clothes and she needed a shower or she would go crazy with all the blood and dirt sticking on her. And two, she was an escapee from the FBI, who was probably sending all agents out to look for her. Maybe it wasn´t too bad to stay a few days with these boys and get back on her feet. Then she still could split from them if she wanted. " You don´t plan a break in the next few seconds by any chance, do you? Because as much as I´d love to discuss your sanity, I haven´t eaten for a long time and I´m desperate to get the smell off of me".

" Surprisingly we have the same thought", Sam turned his head around and watched for traffic while he put the turn signal on. Then he drove on the parking spot in front of a motel called Motel & RV Park. It wasn´t the most expensive looking builidng, but it was no ramshackle hut either. Parking the car, he turned the engine off and faced their passenger. " Stay in the car and wait for us".

Maria nodded and was tempted to say that she didn´t have anywhere else to go anyway. But she decided to keep quiet this time and do what she got told. Absently she stroked her bulging belly while she rested against the nice backseat. It had been a long time since she felt so safe and relaxed for more than a few seconds. She looked out the window and saw the brothers walking into the office of the motel and talking to the clerk at the front. She wondered what their deal was and why they had saved her although they didn´t know her. Nobody was so nice without expecting something in return. Even some keepers of the army eagle base had just been nice to her because they thought she would tell them anything about the whereabouts of her friends. They didn´t care that she didn´t know it herself. Her supposed friends left her behind after graduation. No, more precisely it had been the decision of Michael not to include her in the runaway train, but neither Max or Liz had been fighting to let her with them. They just looked away when she glanced at them. Great friends she had been having. They had doomed her and Jesse while they probably cruised around america and watched the famous sights. Noticing the window slightly vibrating because she was still practising with the control over her powers, she tried to calm down. It wasn´t their fault that the FBI had caught her and Jesse just after the van had driven off and it wasn´t Michael´s fault that he left her alone with his child. And it wasn´t anyone´s fault that those bastards made experiments with Max blood and injected it into her. Now she slowly transforming to a damn hybrid like the podsquad and didn´t have any idea how she could keep her strength hidden.

" Hey, we´ve got a room".

Maria startled for a moment. She hadn´t expected them to be out so soon. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she turned to Dean´s worried face. He was cute in some strange way, a little like Michael when they first met. " Great".

Dean saw that she had problems to get up from the backseat. She was struggling to bent her back and was holding her belly. " Here. Let me help you", carefully he took her arm and pulled slowly. Suddenly he was hit with flashes when he made contact with her skin.

- _**a white room, looking like a cell in a asylum. Two men covered in white overalls bending over something. Fear and panic**_

_**- The same men holding someone down while a doctor was holding up a big needle with a red fluid in it. Worry and rage**_

_**- A hispanic man with a small tired smile. He was stretching his arm out, like he wanted to take the hand of someone. Sadness and a tiny bit of hope**_

_**- A doctor getting hit by a white blast and dropping to the ground. The hispanic man was there again. He was running out of a room. Happiness and fear**_

Dean stumbled back from the impact and the intensity of the feelings. He never had received such a thing. A little scared he stared at Maria, who was glancing at him with glassy eyes. She had been the one pulling back from him. " What the hell?".

" I´m sorry", hurriedly Maria stepped out of the car and was briskly, well as fast as her feet could carry her, walking in the direction of Sam. He was already waiting for them in front of the room with the number 4.

Dean was following her, although in a much more slower pace. He was determined to find out what happened to her, now more than ever. He had to ask his brother to look her up in the internet. There had to stand something about her. She didn´t just start to exist since last night. When he stepped into the room, he saw Sam sitting at a small table with his laptop open in front of him. " Where is our guest?".

Sam pointed with his hand towards another door, which seemed to be the bathroom. Judging after the sound of running water Maria decided to take a shower. " Getting all the dirt off of her".

" Hey Sammy, can you do me favour and type in her name. I want to know what happened to her. There has to be something in the internet about her disappearance".

Sam glanced amused at his brother before turning the screen around. Obviously they both had been having the same idea. " Already working on it", then he applied his attention on the monitor again. He read through a few lines and saw one that was sticking out from everything. Curious he clicked on the article and immediately another side popped up. It was a report from a small newspaper in Roswell New Mexico from september of 1999. It was about a shooting in a restaurant called the crashdown. A waitress named Liz Parker, also the daughter of the owner, had been supposedly shot. But later everything was just false alarm and she just broke a bottle of ketchup. Sheriff Valenti had questioned the witnesses, the cook Jose Gurrera and another waitress Maria DeLuca, but they weren´t any help at all. " Alright, she was there when a waitress had been shot at. But that´s nothing to be suspicious about".

Dean bent closer over the shoulder of his brother and something caught his eye. Pointing with his finger at the spot, he waited until a pop up window opened again. It was the same newspaper, just that the date was five months ago. There was standing that a group of young teenagers had to escape from their graduation ceremony. One of them, Max Evans, told the shocked audience that he and a group of his friends, which was later confirmed had been Isabel Evans, Michael Guerin, Kyle Valenti, Liz Parker, Maria DeLuca and Jesse Ramirez, would be saying goodbye to their families. He held a movingly speech until a motorcycle drove into room and took him away. The parents had been called for questioning about the disappearance of their children and what drove them to it. But they couldn´t help the police and nobody knew where they were. " Now that´s a little strange. Why did they have to escape the ceremony?".

" Maybe the FBI was after them, too?", Sam shrugged his shoulders, but he had to admit it was odd. Especially when the name of the guy Maria mention was in the article.

Suddenly the door to the bathroom opened and Maria came out with a white fluffy bathrobe around her body and a towel on her head. Steam was raising behind her. " Now I finally feel like a human being again".

Sam and Dean faced her. They overlooked her undressed state and the fact that she was clean and came straight to the point. They turned the laptop in her direction and instantly noticed her change of expression. " What can you tell us about that?".

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanx to Magali and RedJewel2662 for liking this story. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much.**

**Chapter 3**

Maria watched the picture flicker on the small monitor. For a moment she thought she had to throw up. But then her escape mechanism started kicking it and she glanced quickly to the entrance. She was already mulling over how long she would need before the brothers could follow her and if she would make it even out the door. Obviously she wasn´t so unflashy like she wanted, because Sam slid backwards with the cheap plastic chair and blocked her only escape route. Carefully she moved towards the bathroom door, at least there she could flee through the window. Unfortunately Dean put his body in her path and prevented her from leaving this room. Resigned she let herself slump on the squeaky bed with the ugly green spread. Then she glanced at the monitor again and the photos of her friends. She wondered if they still looked like that or if they had to change their appearance. How they were doing and if they missed her just a little.

" Why don´t you tell us the truth about you? We even told you about what we are doing and believe us we saw almost everything. Nothing can shock us anymore", Sam tried it with his emphatic charme. Most people told him everything when he did that.

Maria shook her head at him. As much as she wanted to tell them everything, she couldn´t. " I´m sorry, I can´t do that. It would be too dangerous for you and for me".

Dean stepped away from his spot and sat on the table opposite her. He crossed his arms over his chest and his feets at his ankles. " Why do you think that? Why is it dangerous for us?".

" Everyone knowing about it is either on the run or died. It´s already dangerous enough that I´m with you. But as soon as I feel stronger I will be out of your hair immediately. I just need a few days to recover", Maria rubbed her face tiredly. It had been too damn long when she felt normal and carefree. Since knowing alien were real and living under humans in Roswell her life had taken a long road of adventure, danger, fear and so many tears that they could have watered the sahara with it. She just wanted to leave everything behind and start from anew.

That got Sams attention immediately. It sounded like something in their category and he liked a challenge. " Don´t worry, Danger is our family motto. We´re used to it".

Maria shook her head. If they saw what she saw and what she experience they would talk differently. They had no idea how cruel human beings could be if they wanted. She had been there when they questioned Jesse. They put him under so much pressure that he started crying after hours and hours of torture. " No. You never get used to it. I know it, because I lived it for over three years and I´m still not used to it".

" Tell us what happened. Maybe we can help", Dean was surprised about the gentleness of his voice. He wasn´t aware that he was capable of that. But this girl reminded him of himself a bit. Life hadn´t been exactly easy on her and she still was here. She seemed to be a fighter just like him.

Maria laughed, but it wasn´t the funny kind, it had more a sarcastic ring to it. Help her! Alright they had been a help in getting her away from the desert and bought her a few days before she had to run from the FBI, too. But other than that, they couldn´t help her in any kind. " You´ve done enough already. You saved me from my chasers and I´m thankful for that. But I can´t endanger you more by knowing my secret".

Sam knew that they wouldn´t get far with their tactic. Their opponent was by far the most stubborn person they meet. He turned to his brother and saw that Dean wouldn´t give up so easily, he was strangly interested in her story. " Okay, we can respect that", he ignored the sharp glance thrown his way from his sibling. " Are you hungry? You look like you could eat something".

" Yeah, that would be great", Maria couldn´t even remember the last time she ate something. But she was sure it had been a long time ago. At least too long after the growling in her stomach. She had been rebelling against the agents and threatened to starve herself and her child to death before she would let them take him from her.

Sam faced his laptop again and his finger flew over the keyboard quickly. Then he took out his cellphone and dailed a number on it before putting it at his ear. For a few seconds he listened intently until a voice picked up at the other end. " Yeah. We would like to order three pizzas. One with ham, salami and double cheese, one with onions, mushrooms, ham, pepperoni and paprika and one with..wait a minute", he turned to Maria. " What do you want on your pizza?".

Maria thought about what she craved the most. Now she could eat what she wanted and not be afraid that she would lose her child anymore. " I want garlic, pepperoni, onions, pineapple, double cheese, olives and tabasco if it´s possible".

" Alright. The last one with garlic, onions, double cheese, pineapple, pepperoni, olives and tabasco sauce", he waited a few moments. Probably getting told how long it would take. " Great. Thanks", he closed his cellphone and put it back on the table besides the laptop. " We can get them in half an hour".

Dean looked confused at his brother. " Why didn´t you let them deliver?".

Sam turned to him with an expression like he should already know the answer. " Because the place is just across the street".

" I don´t want to interrupt your bickering fetish, but I don´t suppose you have clothes for me? I mean I don´t want to cause trouble, but I don´t think you want to see a naked pregnant woman in her seventh month walking around the room all day, do you?", Maria had nothing against nudism, but she barely knew this two and she didn´t want them to think strange from her. Alright, she had been having sex, her stomach was proof enough, but she wasn´t that kind of woman.

Dean let his eyes travel over her body hidden under the bathrobe. She was in her seventh month? It looked more like she was in her fourth maybe even fifth month of her pregnancy and not that far along. What had those bastard done to her? " You can have something from me", shaking the bad thoughts from his head he walked to his bag and pulled a black metallica t-shirt and black boxer shorts from it. Then he gave it to her.

Maria took the offered clothes in her hand and disappeared in the bathroom. Slowly she pulled the bathrobe from her body and looked down at her slightly round belly. Tenderly she rubbed it and tears were falling from her eyes. She couldn´t believe it, she had it really made it out from this hell. Even if the thought that Jesse wasn´t with her was dragging her down, she was glad that it was over. At least for now, because she was sure that the FBI had sent all his agents out to look for her. Which meant for her that she had to stay off the streets for a few days, maybe even change her appearance. And she needed real clothes. Remembering the reason for coming into the bathroom she finally stepped into the boxer shorts and pulled them up. After that she put the t-shirt on and looked down. Momentarily she smiled when she saw what was on the front of it. It was the Master of Puppets Tour shirt. Unfortunately she knew that fact because she often had slept in the same when she stayed overnight with Michael. The thought was comforting and painfully at the same time. She thought back at the last conversation they had before hell broke loose. She wanted to go with him and the others, because even the idea to never see them again was too hurtful. She didn´t want to imagine a life without them in it. However Michael let his wounded ego over his mind and punished her on his own way with the knowledge to not belong to this group any longer. Not even caring if she was in danger or not. She had to watch the van driving away with her life and her heart. If not for Jesse, she would have probably done something stupid, like killing herself and with that her child. Shaking her head she banned all the bad thoughts. She had to look forward now, even if not for herself, than at least for her son. He was the most precious thing she had at the moment and she would do everything in her power to protect him from any harm. Stroking her belly for the last time she went out of the bathroom and found Sam still sitting in front of his laptop and typing away while Dean was looking interested over his shoulder. When she closed the door behind her, the brothers turned away from what they were doing and faced her.

" Oh hey. We just found something interesting. Do you know a Amy DeLuca?", Sam had found this really strange article. He didn´t know that there was a town as weird as Roswell, but apparently the rumours about aliens wasn´t so fake like the gouverment wanted people to believe.

Immediately Maria left her place at the door and stormed to the boys. She even pushed Dean out of the way, of course accidently. Fear was crawling up her spine and she could feel her heart pumping in her throat. " Yeah. She´s my mother. What happened?".

Dean was impressed about the nudge from this small girl. She was strong and looked absolutely stunning in his clothes, which had him a little distracted. He just wished she would take the towel from her head, so that he could see her hair without the dirt and the dry blood on it. " She went missing three months ago. The house door was open and some neighbour called the police. According to Sheriff Hanson nobody broke in. It wasn´t a robbery nor are there indication for a fight".

" Oh my god!", Maria had to sit down. Her mother was gone and nobody knew where she was. Did the FBI take her and was torturing her? No that wasn´t possible, because she would have seen her or the agents would have at least used her to keep her in line.

Sam scrolled down the text and began to wonder what mystery was in Roswell. Strange things didn´t just happen like that. They had to be something behind it. " A week later something similiar happened, with a Jim Valenti. Does the name say something to you?".

Maria instantly brightened up and she noticed the fear, which had been gripping her heart was disappearing. She knew that wherever her mother was at the moment, she wasn´t alone and she was fine. " Oh yes. He was dating my mother at some point. I think they both are in hiding somewhere".

" Jim Valenti? The name is sounding familiar. I think Dad wrote something in his book", quickly going to his bag Dean rummaged around in it until he pulled some brown thing, that looked like her calender, just a little messier, out of it. With fast moves he flipped through it and after a few seconds he seemed to have found what he was looking for. Lifting his finger he read from a page.

" _Something strange is going on in Roswell. I just arrived here and I already saw something that was pretty weird. I was looking around the UFO-Center, because I was searching for something supernatural, when a young boy feel on the ground. At first I didn´t pay attention to it. But then he opened his eyes and they were white. It was scary. I thought he was a demon and tailed him for a while. He was living in a seedy trailer with some drunk asshole. I felt sorry for him at first, but then I remembered that he could be evil and the feeling went away. I tried to get a few information from the town sheriff, a man named Jim Valenti. But he was strangly quiet and told me that he didn´t know anything, although I had the feeling his was lying. A few days later I saw the boy again. He was going into some restaurant, I can´t remember the name. I went to the backdoor and stared through a small window inside. Again he crashed to the ground. This time a petite blonde, obviously the girlfriend, kneeled at his side almost in tears. She disappeared for a moment and came back with a tall blonde and a geeky looking boy in tow. The three took the sick boy and dragged him away. I didn´t know where they were taking him, but I knew that had to bring him out sometime and I waited. Thankfully I had enough patience and an hour later 5 teenager, two more joined at some point when I wasn´t looking, dragged their friend out. He was in some kinda cocoon. Curiously I followed the jeep with the passenger until they arrived at some reservation. I parked at a safe distance and tried to read from their lips. They were asking after some deeper rock"._

Maria interrupted the reading with a laugh. " The name is Riverdog".

Sam´s head immediately shot in her direction surprised. He found this comment rather disturbing. How could she know the name of some guy from the reservation? She wasn´t looking like the kind of person who was interested in native american history. " You know him?".

" You can say that. I know the persons your father discribes in his book. Because the sick boy had been my boyfriend. The tall blonde his sister, the geek my best friend and you already guessed it, the petite blonde had been me", Maria couldn´t remember being followed by someone. But that didn´t mean anything, because the whole FBI could have been trailing at their sides that night and she wouldn´t have noticed it. She had been so scared about losing Michael, that she didn´t care about what happened around her.

Dean was a little baffled about the information. His father had been after her boyfriend? Had he been a demon and now because Maria was pregnant with probably his child, she was turning into one, too? He had to see if he could find more about Roswell. Turning the pages, he saw another chapter. " Guys listen to this".

" _Aliens are real!!!! I swear that´s no bullshit. I just saw a young boy, he was called Max, heal someone with his hand. He just laid it on the bleeding wound and let it disappear. He saved the life of the sheriffs son. A few seconds earlier I saw a friend of this Max kill a man with a bust of light, which was shooting from his hand. I pursued investigations and found out that Max, his sister Isabel and a friend of them, his name was Michael, were found wandering the desert, nude and not able to talk when they were six or seven years old. Now I finally understand why there was so much FBI in this area. They were after those teenagers. I decided to get the hell out of Roswell, because there wasn´t anything supernatural for me to hunt. I just hope that these kids can take care of themself. _

Sam was looking incredulously between his brother and Maria, who had tears in her eyes. Quickly she turned her head when she noticed his glance.

Dean meanwhile shook his head amused. " Dude, he can´t be serious. I mean aliens, come on. He had to be high or something".

Unfortunately his brother didn´t seem to share the same thought. His eyes were still glued to the girl sitting on the bed and trying to wipe the tears from her face. " I disagree", he turned to Dean. " I mean, we saw already too much to not believe this".

" He´s right, you know. Your father is a good detective", Maria could picture the day like it had been yesterday. It was the day Michael had told her that he loved her and in the same sentence broke up with her. But she thought they had been alone in the UFO-Center.

Dean stopped staring in the book and turned to her. Okay, his father believing this shit was one thing, after all he had been a long time on the road and it could occure to see things that weren´t there. But her? She appeared so sane. " Oh come on. You have to be kidding me, am I surrounded by morons?".

Maria thought back on the day when she found out aliens were real and going to school with her. She freaked out for a few hours and then met them all with caution. Until the got to know them better and lastly fell in love with one of them. " All right. But how else would you explain my stunt? Or why all the injuries healed already or the fact that I can change my appearance with a wave of my hand?".

" You can change your appearance? How?", now Sam was interested. The last time they ran across a shapeshifter they almost died. His brother didn´t seem to be in agreement with him according to the stiffen in his body. But if she wanted to make him believe she had to prove what she said.

Maria took the towel from her head and shook her still wet hair back and forth. Dean almost forgot to swallow when he saw the slight waves in her long blonde mane and the way it framed her angelic face. For a moment he enjoyed the view. But then she hid her face behind her hands and slide them upwards until she came to her head. When she looked up the brothers got the shock of their lifes. Jessica Alba was sitting in front of them. Sam was impressed while Dean jumped to his feets. " Holy shit!".

" So. You still don´t believe in aliens?", Maria removed everything and was now looking like herself again. She was glad that the brothers were still here with her and didn´t go running screaming like lunatics. At least they hadn´t killed her yet, that was definitely a plus.

Dean took a look at his watch and noticed that it was time to get their lunch. Finally! He was close to starve. Besides he could think better with a full stomach and he would need it now more than ever. " Okay. I get the pizzas. But after that I want to know everything and I don´t wanna hear some shit about danger and stuff. Are we clear on that?".

Maria had to smile at him. She didn´t care how long she knew him, but she already liked his character. " Crystal clear. But then I want to know about you, too. You know, cause this is a two way street".

" Deal", Dean got money from his bag and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him pretty tightly. Like he wanted to protect them from the outside world or he wanted to prevent something coming inside.

Sam was still staring at her. Partly stunned and partly amused. Maria felt slightly uncomfortable. Nervously she plucked at the t-shirt and eyed the room properly. Except for the flat screen tv, everything looked like it came from the 80´s. Bright colors, strange pictures on the walls and ugly furniture. Then she saw a photo hanging near the tv, it was the dome from Atherton. " Where are we by the way?".

" Marathon, Texas. Why?", Sam paid attention to his laptop again. He was searching for a new case they could take. But nothing interesting was in the web. Maybe they could finally stay for a few days at the same place and relax a bit. It wasn´t like they had a time limit or something.

Maria startled at the name. The last time she had been here, they almost got caught from Topolsky and the Sheriff, who they thought were their enemy at the time. It was strange to think about it and knowing what happened after that. Back then everything seemed so much more easier. But they had been all too naive and too young to see the consequences of their actions. Everything has a downside, even if you acted with the best intentions. Max had interfered in nature when he saved Liz, which in return had doomed them all from the beginning. Before she could dwell too much on the past, the door opened again and Dean stepped into the room. One hand holding the pizza boxes, which one was opened and with the other hand he ate already.

Sam immediately closed his laptop and put it back in his bag. He stood up from the chair and got his pizza before his brother was finished with his and would start eating the other. " Oh good. I´m starving".

" Yeah, you already look underfed", Dean replied sarcastic. It wasn´t like he had been gone that long. It was across the street and not another town. Geez, someday he got competition for eating the most.

Maria hopped from the bed and snatched the last box of pizza. The smell was driving her crazy and made her mouth water. She couldn´t remember the last time she ate something normal, something she didn´t get shoved under the door on a tray. Happily she sat back on the bed and started devouring her food. " Oh my god. I never want to eat anything else".

Dean stared uncomfortable at her. The noises she was making let his upstairs brain shut off and activated his downstairs brain. Hell, it had been to long since he got a girl and now he was getting worked up over a girl they picked up from the street, a girl who had been through so much. " You haven´t eaten in a long time, have you?".

" Is it that obvious?", Maria looked down at her hands holding a piece of pizza. Of course it was visible, she was almost skin and bones. She was glad that her son had powers or else he would be dead already.

Sam lifted an eyebrow in her direction. Was the pope catholic? Everybody seeing her would immediately know that she was too thin for her delicate state. But as long as she was with them, he would take care that it would change as soon as possible. " Didn´t the feds feed you?".

Maria stared at the slice in her hand, trapped in a memory. Everyday someone pushed a tray with food under her door, three times a day and she gave it back without touching anything on it. A few doctors threatened that they would get her to eat forcefully. But it hadn´t been useful. " Yes they did. I just didn´t eat it".

" If we´re already at the topic. How come you got in the hands of the feds in the first place?", Dean had almost managed his pizza and he hungrily eyed the remaining pieces in his brothers box. Unfortunately he hated ham and so he paid attention to other pizza. Except for the pineapple it was looking really good.

Maria sighed, thinking back at the day when she came to the hardest decision in her life and didn´t get to do it. She wanted to give up her old life and go with her friends. But she had been stamped as unimportant and they left her behind. Shaking her head she tried to overcome her anger. " I think to understand that I have to start at the beginning", making herself comfortable on the bed, she went back in her memory. " As you read, my best friend had been shot at the Crashdown. I saw her get down and bleeding all over the floor. Panicked I put a towel on it to stop the blood. Then Max shoved me away from her and told me to get an ambulance. I was gone for a few minutes and when I came back Liz was standing with her uniform hanging open and staring after Max and his friend Michael, who bailed just after the that. I knew that something happened and I pestered Liz until she told me the truth. Max had healed her and he was an alien. He, his sister Isabel and Michael. I was afraid of them at first, I mean they were looking normal, but they could be dangerous for all we knew. But in time I started to like them and noticed they were just trying to find their place in this world like any teenager. Then the worst happened, I fell in love with Michael, the only one in the bunch with no manner, no romantic bone in his body, no ambition in life, except for getting the heck out of Roswell and back to his home planet and the strangest hair in the world. He was everything I didn´t want and at the same time the only thing I wanted. We always fought about little things and he acted sometimes like the biggest jerk on this planet. But then he did something and I forgot all his failures".

Dean listened intently to the words she didn´t say. The smile on her face and the glowing of her eyes were telling him that she had loved this guy more than anything. But why the hell did he leave her? Because of her pregnancy? Another girl? " What happened to him?".

" He drove off with my friends. As written in the newspaper we escaped our graduation ceremony after the FBI had surrounded the auditorium and it had been getting to dangerous for us. We met all in the desert where the cars were standing and waited for Max and Michael to appear. When they did everything was going pretty fast. I wanted to go with them, but I was refused, because the FBI wasn´t after me. They were just after the aliens, Kyle and Liz", Maria could still see the sad expression of her best friend when they looked at each other. But not even she had done anything to let her come with them. Strange that Maria could forgive Isabel for leaving Jesse, but not Liz or Michael or even Max.

Sam noticed his brother trying to steal a piece of Marias pizza. Unfortunately he wasn´t as stealthy as he thought, so he made an attempt to distract her. " Why not you? Why took they your friends with them but not you?".

Maria snorted scornfully at that. " Because I was the only one with no powers, just a human that could be in their way", now that wasn´t true anymore and she wondered how they would react to that fact. Would they be glad, angry or did they care at all?

" Yeah but your friends had been human, too. What made them so different?", Dean had successfully snatched his prey and put it into his box. But he had to wait to eat it until he was sure her attention was drawn toward his brother again.

Maria was amused about her missing slice of pizza. He thought she hadn´t seen it, but she had a pretty good radar thanks to her alien powers now. Besides she got a wiff of his scent when he came closer. She didn´t mind though, she just hoped he had a high pain limit. " Kyle and Liz got healed from Max and he accidently gave them powers. We don´t know how it happened, but everybody he healed got powers".

Sam was curious, because as much as he gathered she had powers, too. Which meant she had been healed from this guy. But why didn´t they still take her with them? Didn´t they know about it? Had her healed someone else? Was there more aliens here on earth? " And how did you get your powers then?".

" When the FBI caught me and Jesse they did a few experiments with me. They injected Max alien blood into my system and waited what happened. Thankfully through my pregnancy I got alien cells in my body already and it didn´t kill me. Jesse almost died because of that and just with luck they could save him", Maria went back to the time when the men put her into the white room and left her there for a few days before starting their testing. She had been dumped into ice cold water and after that into hot water to see how she would react. Her system had been so weak that her heart stopped for a few seconds. She could still hear the voices from one agent screaming that they should do everything in their powers to save her.

Dean, realizing his brother and their new member were in a deep conversation, finally remembered the pizza waiting for him and pulled it out. Without hesistation he bit into it. Immediately after that his face screwed up and tears were shooting in his eyes. He opened his mouth and tried to get air into it. " Water...Water".

Sam and Maria turned to him, both wearing amused expressions about the funny picture. His face had taken on a red color and he was fanning air into his mouth with both hands. The other two couldn´t contain their laughter and Sam even got his handy to shoot a photo from his brother while Maria went into the bathroom and got a glass of water.

" Thank you", Dean swallow everything in one go and yet it still felt like something burned the inside of his mouth. His tongue was on fire or at least it seemed that way. But he could use his voice again, which was good. " How can you eat that? I almost destroyed my entrails with it".

Maria bit appreciative into her piece and chewed it with a smile on her face. She didn´t know why he made such a fuss. It wasn´t that hot, actually it could use more tabasco. " Some perks from being cursed with the alien virus", she saw the same expression on the brothers face and wondered how they came to her rescue. " So I told you about me, now it´s your turn. What deep dark secrets have you been hiding?".

Sam shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly like it wasn´t so unusual that they meet each other on the middle of a road in the middle of nowhere with FBI Agents shooting around. " We already told you about it. We´re demon hunters and searching for our father".

" You had been really serious about that? How did you become a demon hunter? It´s not like you learn that on college or even a professional".

Dean took a seat on the other bed opposite Maria and put his ellbows on his knees while keeping eye contact with her. Uncomfortable he interwined his fingers with each other. " Twenty-two years ago our mother died mysteriously. She was pinned at the ceiling in Sammy´s room and started to burn when our father found her. We escaped quickly from the house, knowing we couldn´t save her anymore. My father found out that a demon was after my mothers death and so he began haunting this thing and all evil. When other children learned to drive their bikes without carrying wheels, we learned how to fire off a weapon. Ever since we´re moving from one place to another and kill evil".

Maria couldn´t believe what they were telling her. She didn´t know that other things were exisiting outside their world. She had thought the worst had been those skins or the FBI goons. But to know that demons were on the loose and walking around was disturbing. " It must have been hard to grow up without a mother and living this life".

" Sometimes. The reason why I went to college. I wanted to leave everything behind us and even started a huge fight with my father, who thought I should stay with him and Dean to hunt. But I just wanted a normal life", Sam regretted the argument with his Dad, but the other things not. He wasn´t made for the unstable life like his brother. He dreamed about a family one day, living in a nice neighboorhood with barbeques and playing children on the streets.

Dean´s featured hardened at that and he quickly turned his head around to stare at the wall. He hated to be reminded that his brother left them for a better life. He just disappeared to live another life without them in it. Like they weren´t enough for him anymore. Maria noticed the tension in the room and wondered what was going on. " Why aren´t you on college anymore?".

Sam thought about the arrival of Dean in his room. The expression on his face when he told him that their father went missing. The search and the strange case they found. Jess pinned at the ceiling. " My girlfriend died. Dean needed my help with finding our father and so we´re cruising around america and save the innocents".

" I´m sorry. I didn´t want to open old wounds or something", Maria felt bad for asking in the first place. But she could relate in a strange way with them. She grew up with one parent, who was more on the road than home. The guy she loved just was gone from her life and she was looking for a purpose in her life, besides raising a much powerful child.

Sam smiled shyly at her. It wasn´t something he told with pleasure, but it wasn´t as painful as it had been. Besides she would find it out sooner or later when she stayed with them. " It´s alright".

Dean noticed the sad mood overtaking the room and immediately jumped to his feet. Clapping his hands together he glanced at his brother and Maria. " Who want´s some pie? I could stand a piece of it. Anyone with me?".

" Count me out. I´m still trying to digest the pizza", Sam had always been surprised about the amount of food his brother could stow away in his body. If anyone saw him eating would think he either had a eating disorder or he was a phenomen, because actually he had to weight much more than now.

Maria rubbed her belly and waited for a moment. Then she bounced to the end of the mattress and was stunned for a moment when Dean offered his hands to pull her on her feets. " I´ll go with you. I´m pregnant and you ate my last pizza. At least you can do is invite me to dessert".

Dean stared at her surprised. For someone so tiny she had a big mouth. " Hey, I´m a growing boy. I need all the food I can get. Besides I saved your ass and paid for the pizza. I can do whatever I want with it".

" You can´t just steal food from a pregnant girl. That´s like stealing a lollypop from a child", Maria was two seconds away from jumping at his throat. The boy needed to get laid and that badly, there couldn´t be another reason for his behaviour. Or he was a natural jerk.

Dean opened the door to let her out when he noticed that she was only wearing his boxers and a t-shirt. He couldn´t leave her like that, it was cold outside. " You can´t go out in this state".

Maria glared at him. Did he just say something against her pregnant condition or her emotional condition. But before she could put him down because of that, she felt a cold breeze at her legs. Looking down she realized what she was wearing. Okay, maybe she overreacted. Waving her hand over the clothes, she changed her things into a black jeans and a black sweater. " Can we go now? I´m not finished with you mister".

" Oh hell", Dean rolled his eyes at his brother before leaving with her. It would get interesting with her that was for sure.

Sam laughed when he saw them walking out the door and it increased when he heard them both arguing through the wood. Maybe it would be good that they had someone on their journey with a female oppinion. It would take the seriousness out of their situation.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

In a hotelroom somwhere in Texas a young man was sitting on the squeaking old bed and stared at a picture in his hand. It was a photo of him with a gorgeous blonde girl in his arm. Stroking over her face he thought about the last time he had seen her, the last words he had spoken to her and the moment her beautiful green eyes twinkled with tears in the pale moonlight shining down on her. He had hurt her, which wasn´t so unusual for him, but this time it was final, because he wasn´t coming back and she wasn´t allowed to come with them. Now after on the road constantly for the last half a year he knew that he made his biggest mistake in that moment. He should have swallowed his dumb pride and let his heart make the decision for him. Then he would maybe be happy now and not wondering what might have been if he made a different move that night. Suddenly the music in the radio let his ears perk up. The song seemed to be new, because he didn´t know it already and after so much time in a van they heard many songs by now. Listening intently he stretched his arm out and pushed the volume a little up.

_I think you can do much better than me  
After all the lies that I made you believe  
Guilt kicks in and I start to see  
The edge of the bed  
Where your nightgown used to be  
I told myself I won't miss you  
But I remember  
What it feels like beside you  
I really miss your hair in my face  
And the way your innocence tastes  
And I think you should know this  
You deserve much better than me_

Yeah he had thought the same when he left the only woman he ever loved behind. He was under the impression she was better off without him. She was probably now going to college or made another try in New York or she finally found her Mr. Right. And all he had was the memory of her in his head, the smell of her scent in his nose and this little picture of them from the last summer vacation they did together. Before he ran away with the others and before she kissed this Billy boy.

_While looking through your old box of notes  
I found those pictures I took  
That you were looking for  
If there's one memory I don't want to lose  
That time at the mall  
You and me in the dressing room  
I told myself I won't miss you  
But I remember  
What it feels like beside you  
I really miss your hair in my face  
And the way your innocence tastes  
And I think you should know this  
You deserve much better than me_

What he wouldn´t do today to hear her complain to him about the lack of attention he paid to their relationship or fight with him about the proper handling of a duster once in a while. Shit, he would be glad to listened to her annoyed nagging about him hogging the blanket at night and making her freeze. Sometimes he missed the times when they shared a bed together. Usually when her mother was out of town and he didn´t want her to be alone at her house.

_The bed I'm lying in is getting colder  
Wish I never would've said it's over  
And I can't pretend... I won't think about you when I'm older  
Cause we never really had our closure  
This can't be the end  
I really miss your hair in my face  
And the way your innocence tastes  
And I think you should know this  
You deserve much better than me  
I really miss your hair in my face  
And the way your innocence tastes  
And I think you should know this  
You deserve much better than me  
(And I think you should know this)  
(You deserve much better than me)_

Startling he saw something wet dripping on his photo. He wondered if the ceiling was leaky at one place, but noticed that his face was wet as well. Without him realizing it he started crying, although he swore to never cry because of a girl. But he missed her so much that he felt it like a limb that was torn apart from him. Everytime a blonde girl passed him he looked into their faces to see if it was her. And everytime he found out it wasn´t her, he was depressed. His friends didn´t understand him and he didn´t care most of the time. But when he was alone he felt the loneliness the hardest. How could he think that she was safer without him? At least he would know how she was and where she was when she would be at his side. And he wouldn´t have to worry about that. They tried to reach her, but all they got was a big nothing and that scared him more than anything.

" Knock Knock. Man, you want to spent all your time in this dingy hotel room or what? Michael you have to start living again before you go crazy".

The mentioned man hid the picure under his pillow and turned around to the annoying roommate he had. He still wondered how happily the other boy could be under those circumstances. They weren´t on a road trip, they were on the run from the FBI for gods sake. " Leave me alone Kyle".

Kyle shook his head forcefully. He had watched his friend suffer long enough now. It was time to move on. Buddha teached him that it wasn´t good to dwell on the past too much. You can´t cry after something that you can´t change anymore. " No, No, No. You come with me, buddy and I don´t want to hear a word from you or I´m forced to get Izzy".

" Can´t you see that I´m busy", Michael pushed his face in his pillow again and hoped that his friend would understand the hint. He wasn´t in the mood to go out of this room tonight. Actually he didn´t want to leave this room ever again, he just wanted to lie there and think about all the mistakes he had made in his life. That should keep him occupied for years.

Kyle looked around to see what the other boy could do here. But except worn clothes lying on the floor he couldn´t detect anything. " Busy? With what? Counting how long you can mope without loosing your mind?".

Michael should have known that his roommate couldn´t take a hint and even if it would bite in his ass. Damn, why was he stuck with Wonderboy and not with the lovesick twins. At least the two were so wrapped in their own world that they didn´t notice anything around them, which meant they would leave him alone. " Kyle. How can I say it pleasantly? Piss off !".

" I know you miss her, we all do. But it was your decision to leave her behind", Kyle hadn´t thought he would see the day when the unbreakable Guerin would have a broken heart. All right, he knew that Michael and Maria had a strange relationship and they both loved each other to some extent. But that their feelings ran so deep was new for him, although Isabel told him something in this direction at one point.

Michael jumped from the bed and on his feets real quick at that. Searching the floor for some clothes he could wear he ignored the stabbing pain in his chest. He didn´t want to talk about that right now, he had enough on his mind, he didn´t need the bs from someone who never experienced real love. " Don´t start with this topic again. I had my reasons to do that".

Kyle was caught off guard when he almost got knocked over from his friend. Whoa, he had touched a sore spot. Jumping on the bed he called his for the next few days, to avoid getting run over again, he watched the other boy putting on clothes he found on the floor. " Yeah. You´re reason was your wounded ego. You put her down because you were angry with her. She wanted something better, something she could do alone, but you took offence at that, because it meant you weren´t enough for her".

" Don´t talk about things you have no idea about. I wanted her out because I thought it was safer for her. I wanted to give her a change for a normal life and not this crazy roadtrip from hell", Michael had to admit, some part of the statement had been true. He had been having the impression that he wasn´t enough for Maria, that she just wanted out because Billy could give her something he never could. But they got closer after his little stunt as King and his apologize for behaving like a complete jackass. They talked and it was like old times.

Kyle was on the roll because he hit the nail right on the head. Two in a row, not bad for a ex jock slash buddhist slash soon to be green man. " If that´s want you want to believe and let´s you sleep better at night, fine. But one day you have to admit that you´re the one responsible for your misery".

Michael turned to his friend lying on the bed and glared at him. Since when did everyone start talking like Dr. Phil. He felt like in a talk show, where some wussy boy told him that he could be happy if he wanted. " Thanks for the insight. I´ll try to remember it for the next time".

" Hey guys. You won´t believe what just happened", Isabel stormed into the room without knocking before. The smile on her face could have lit Las Vegas and for the first time she seemed to be happy. " I could finally dreamwalk Jesse".

Instantly Michael and Kyle were at her side bombarding her with question. Why they couldn´t contact him the whole time? If Maria was with him? Where he was? If Maria was with him? If he was well? If Maria was with him and healthy? What happened after they escaped? If he took Maria with him?

Isabel couldn´t understand anything. The two boys were asking her so quickly and without taking notice of the other. She just heard a few words, but nothing that would make sense. " Hey hey, hold your horses. I will tell you everything, we just have to wait for Liz and Max. What I have to say is for all of us".

Michael slumped on his bed. That wasn´t sounding good, not good at all. Oh god, she was probably dead! Or worse married to some man who treated her badly or caught from those FBI agents. Shaking his head he tried to calm down. It wouldn´t be healthy if he worried about something that wasn´t maybe not so bad actually. But what if he had reason to worry? What if something had happened to her and he wasn´t there to help her? What when she lost her memory and was wandering around america with no clue about herself? Thankfully he was safed from spinning more tales about Maria with the arrival of Max and Liz, who were looking happily as usual. Damn bastards. " So what news do you have for us?"

Isabel took a seat on the ugly green plastic chair at the wall and grinned at everyone. The excitement was practically pouring from her. " As I told already I contacted Jesse and he´s alive. Hiding in the old silver mine in galitas. You know the place we had been when we rescued Max from Pierce".

" Hiding? What happened", Kyle voiced immediately what everyone wanted to know. If the other man had to be undercover, something had been going down and they hadn´t noticed anything, because they had been busy with their own shit.

Isabel lost her happy expression for a moment. She had been looking slightly in his mind and the pictures she saw there had been more than just disturbing. She almost cried when she witnessed the torture those monster put her husband and Maria through. " After we were gone, a few agents came and took Jesse and Maria. They had been at eagle rock base until two days ago. Some soldier had pity and helped them escape".

Michael counted back from the day they drove away from Roswell until now. Five months. She had been in this hell for so long? Oh god, she would never forgive him that. He had left her behind and she almost got killed. " Is Maria with him?".

" I´m sorry. He lost her during their hasty escape. He just noticed her absencse when he slowed down. He saw most of the guards following her, so he thinks she might be back in the base", or dead. But Isabel didn´t want to say that out loud. But it had been the first thing she thought about. It could explain why she couldn´t connect to the other girl.

Michael jumped to his feet immediately, the worry visible etched on his usual emotionless face. He paced the lenght of the room while objects right and left exploded or floated over the heads of his friends. " We have to get back and get her out. They could do god knows something with her and we just sit around and wait for the news that she´s dead if it´s not already too late".

Max put himself in the path of his almost brother and slowed him down. Reassuringly he grasped the other mans shoulder and looked deeply into his eyes. It was good to see a reaction from him, but this wasn´t any helpful for them. " Calm down. We will think about something", especially after his experience he made in that base with all those agents around him, treating him like an insect they had to cut open to see how he looked from the inside, he wanted to spare that everyone else. And then Maria of all people, she was the only human in this group. " They can´t do anything to her, she´s human. So I don´t think they will kill her".

" I have to disagree with you there. Maria´s got more alien DNA in her body than we´re all together", Isabel watched the picture of the announcement about the pregnancy and the test with Max blood and how her husband almost lost his life in the process.

Finally Liz, who had been strangly quiet through all the meeting, opened her mouth. That statement had her slightly stunned if not made curious. The last time she saw her best friend, she had been 100 percent human. " How? Maria was never healed and as far as we know her parents are humans".

Isabel grinned wickedly, finally having the chance to have a really good comeback for her pain in the ass sister in law. The girl was sometimes so annoying that it was a wonder her brother hadn´t gagged her already. She wished Maria had come with them, at least then she would have had someone to talk to besides the boys. " Because Liz, Maria is carrying a half antarian child in her and she got Max´s blood streaming through her veins".

" What? Are you implying that she´s pregnant from my husband?", Liz high pitched screeching voice sounded around the room. Everybody cringed in pain, a few even covering their ears.

Isabel rolled her eyes and prevented herself from snapping at the other girl. She sometimes wondered what Max saw in her. " No. She had been already pregnant before the scientist gave her the blood, which means Michael is the father".

At that the window exploded and a few car alarm systems sounded in the area. Everybody turned to the culprit, already knowing who was behind it. Michael glared at all, daring them to say a word about it. " What? You think I would react calmly about this? The woman I love is trapped in a base full of bad people trying to harm her and now I find out she carrying my child. I don´t know about you, but I won´t sit here any longer and do nothing while two of our friends might need our help".

" What do you wanna do? Storm into a base full of FBI Agents and hoping they won´t shoot you?", Max wished nothing more to drive back to Roswell and retrieve the others, but he had to think about their safety now. He couldn´t sacrifice the whole group for two people who could be already dead at the moment.

Michael felt their old issues coming back to life. He had to do everything to not kill his friend right at the spot. He sensed Kyle standing at his back and supporting him. Seconds later Isabel joined him. " Why I´m not surprised that you won´t do anything? But this time I will go with or without you. I don´t care what you say and I don´t care what you think. I´ll go and if I have to do it alone".

Isabel and Kyle nodded in agreement, showing the other two on which side they were standing. Max looked angry about the obvious lost fight while Liz seemed to debate with herself to do the right thing. After a few moments she shocked everyone by stepping away from her husband and walking to the other side. " If my best friend needs me I will be damned to let her down".

" You coming with us or you stay here and mope?", Michael hated to fight with his brother. But this time he wouldn´t back down from it, because he was right. His family was out there somewhere and he had to find them. Max should know how that felt, he risked everything for finding his son. " My child is probably in danger and needs my help. I want you at my side as my brother".

Max brushed his longer hair from his forehead and glanced at the pleading faces staring at him. How could he say no to that? " Okay. But we´ll change our appearance and we get rid of the van".

Michael breathed out relieved. He would never admit it, but despite their small battles, he valued the opinion and the friendship of Max. Even if he didn´t agree with him that often, well most of the time. " Can do", he turned around to Kyle. " We´re going car hunting", then he drew his attention to the females in the room. " While you all pack our things together. As soon as me and Kyle coming back we´re on the road".

Everybody nodded their agreement before parting.

**Later that day**

Kyle was pretty talented with stealing a car, even throug he was the son of a sheriff. Maybe that was the reason for it, his father probably had to open car doors when someone had forgotten to take the key out. Michael had felt like Nicholas Cage in Gone in 60 seconds when they observed their surroundings and watched the cars standing on the streets. As soon as they noticed that they were alone, each of them ran to a vehicle, opened and started it. Kyle had choosen a dark blue jeep while Michael took the black mustang. Calmly they peeled out of the parking space and drove to their hotel, where they changed the plates on the cars and added a few extras like sratches and rost to them. Then they got the others, who were waiting for them with the packed luggage.

" We´re ready to got", Michael was stunned when he saw strange faces looking at him. Whoa, what happened here? But he remembered about changing the appearance, so he relaxed again. Unfortunately he didn´t know who was who. He just recognized Max, because he was the only male in the room, although he looked like a hippie with his long dark blonde hair, the lighter complexion and the blue eyes. The girls was harder. One of them had short red hair with black high lights, green eyes and a dark complexion while the other had black long curly hair, crystal blue eyes and a normal complexion. " Okay, Izzy put your hand up", almost laughing he saw the redhead lifting the hand. So the other was Liz, not so bad for someone with no fashion, she almost looked normal.

Max jumped to his feet and walked towards his brother. He needed a new face as well if they wanted to go before it would be getting darker outside. " You have any wishes?".

Michael mulled it over. He could choose from so many options, maybe he should do somethind drastic and change to a darker look. But then he wouldn´t fit with the others, they had to match to not blew their cover. " Just don´t let me look stupid".

" Okay", Max concentrated while he waved his hand over the other man face. Within seconds his hair changed to blonde spikes, his eyes resembled those of Maria and his complexion got lighter. " All done".

Michael instantly went to the mirror in the bathroom and glanced at the result. Shocked he stared at the reflection of a male version of Maria. Touching his face, he closed his eyes for a moment. Even the skin felt like hers or he just imagined it. After a few seconds he went out to the others again and witnessed Kyle getting changed into black man with afro, brown eyes and a dark complexion. Keeping his snickers to a minimum, he got his bag to depart. " Let´s go".

The others took their few belongings and followed after him. Outside Liz, Max and Kyle piled into the jeep while Isabel and Michael got in the mustang. Starting the cars they drove towards the busy street. Stopping until someone let them through, Michael saw an old black car driving by with a girl in the back that was familiar to him, it felt like Maria. But the girl had short black hair and two boys were in the front. Strangly he watched the plate. It was from Kansas. No that wasn´t her, probably just his imagination.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanx for the nice feedback I´ve received from Tini and Magali. I appreciate it.**

**Chapter 5**

Maria was sitting in front of Sams laptop, trying to find something out about some Hookman, who was up to no good in Iowa. They had been arriving there yesterday morning and the boys had been forcing her to be the informant. Since she hit her ninth month, they turned into worrywards, forbidding her to go out at night and not talk to strangers. Although part of her felt flattered that they were concerned about her, she wasn´t exactly defenceless. Dammit, she had saved their asses more than once. Sam wasn´t so bad with a bit pouting and whining he was quickly out of the way. But Dean was harder to crack, he was as stubborn as a mule and sometimes so scary like a bear. He was playing the protector of her and his little brother, albeit unnecessary. Grabbing into the box of donuts she took one with chocolate on top and bit hungrily into it. After she was out of the base, she started eating again and with Dean feeding her daily, she was finally looking like a pregnant woman. With a little rest and lots of sleep she got her healthy color back to her face, although her ankles were swollen and her back hurt without pause. But for the first time she could enjoy the happiness of being a mother to be. Stroking her huge belly she couldn´t wait until Alex was coming into this world. Okay, she had to concentrate. Looking back at the monitor she tried to find something on google, yahoo and msn. Unfortunately there was just news and urban legends about men with hooks. Suddenly the cellphone Dean brought her while they had been behind the Wendigo, rang besides her. Picking it up she wasn´t surprised to see that it was the devil himself.

" Yeah. What´s up?".

" _I could ask the same. Did you find something about this hookman?"._

" Well, nothing concrete, just stories kids tell each other. You know like ghost stories. But nothing about who this guy is and where his grave might be".

" _Great. Well that means that Sammy and I have to go to the library at the college and look there"._

" Or I could go outside and ask the people. They might know something".

" _No. You´re staying in the room until we´re coming. Until this little man popps out of you you´re under strict bed rest"._

" I hate you. There´s nothing on the tv and I´m so sick of counting the holes in the walls".

" _Okay, maybe you can out for an hour and get fresh air. But dress warm, I don´t want you to get a cold"._

" Thanks mum and see you tonight", Maria snapped her cellphone shut before Dean could change his mind. He was so bossy with her sometimes. But thankfully not so bad like he was towards his brother. Poor Sam. Closing the laptop and gripping the table tightly she heaved her huge body from the chair, careful not to move to fast and get dizzy again. When she was standing she looked down to see if she had to right shoes on this time. Unfortunately she just saw her belly and nothing more. Damn she couldn´t wait to see anything below it. Smoothing down her blue overall with a yellow flower on the front, she went to fetch her jacket from the hook, happy that she finally had own clothes and didn´t have to get something from the boys. Almost stumbling on the baby carrier Dean brought, she opened the door and sniffed the fresh and cold air hitting her face immediately. It had been a long time since she had been outside for more than a few seconds. Closing the door tightly behind her she walked slowly through the streets and watched the shops with the many people. It was a normal small town, a little reminding her about Roswell, just without the aliens. She wondered what the others were doing at the moment and if they even knew about her. The last two months on the road with Sam and Dean had been hard and entertaining, hard because she missed her family and the time in the base, locked inside such a small space and tortured had left emotional scarrs, although the nightmares had finally stopped and entertaining because the brothers were more than funny, especially when one of them was bored and played a prank on the other, which was often the case. It was like she was on a road trip with Kyle and Alex. Thinking about them was leading her always to the aliens, to be more exact one alien. Michael. When she couldn´t sleep she thought about him and when she slept she dreamed about him. Sometimes she wished him to hell and sometimes she wished he would be with her and take her in his strong arms while telling her everything would be okay. Since they drove away from Texas where she had felt him so close, she had to think about him often. Dean asked her one night if she hated her friends because they left her behind and got her in danger. As much as she wanted to say she didn´t hate them, she couldn´t, because there was this rage in her towards them. Not for getting her in danger, but for leaving her in Roswell, knowing they would never come back. She knew that Isabel had tried to contact her a few times, but she always had blocked her, fearing she would do something she would regret someday. She wasn´t ready to face them without laying all the blame on them yet. Maybe in the future when her disappointment had been gone or her anger wasn´t so big anymore, after all she was just human. Well, at least most of her. Rubbing her belly with a smile she noticed that she was standing in front of a book store and she was staring at the window with the newest bestseller novels. Mulling for a moment if she should buy a book to have something if she was bored, she decided it wouldn´t hurt to go inside and look around, maybe the clerk could help her with the myth about the hookman, too. Pushing the door open, she was instantly assaulted with the smell of coffee and a warm breeze. The store wasn´t that big, but everywhere stood bookshelfs full of books of every genre. Stepping inside she noticed a few people stopped searching and looked at her. Smiling uncomfortable at them she choose to keep her glance down, afraid the FBI could have spread a picture of her. But when she caught her reflection in the window she was reminded that she wasn´t Maria DeLuca anymore, because Maria DeLuca was found dead at a roadside motel near Wyoming with both wrist slashed open one month ago. Her ID said Maria Winchester and she was the black haired, brown eyed and extremely stubborn little sister of Dean and Sam. Stroking her dark locks reaching her shoulders, she smiled remembering that the boys teased her often about her obsession with her hair.

" Can I help you?", someone stepped besides her and startled her for a moment.

Maria turned to the young man, probably in his midtwenties with blonde hair and kind blue eyes. " Oh no. I was just looking around", but then she thought about why she went out in the first place. " On second thought, yes you can maybe help me. I heard a story about some hookman from here and I wanted to know more about it. Do you have any books about it?".

He stared at her with a mix between amusement and distrust. Letting his gaze wander down to her bulging belly for a second, already considering her inquiry. " If you have time, I could tell you some things. But I have to serve those costumers first".

" That would be great. In the meantime I will look around", Maria smiled grateful at him, loving to be pregnant, because nobody would be suspicous of a expectant mother. Besides she had been persuading before she got pregnant.

He smiled back, a slight blush gracing his youthful face before he turned around and went behind the counter again, taking the books from a young girl and cashed up.

Maria meanwhile was eyeing the cover of the many books on the table in the middle of the room. It seemed to be the most popular or the newest. Her eyes lit up when she saw the pocket book from the third heiress from Brenda Joyce, one of her favourite authors. She had read the novel at least a hundred times by now and she had been falling in love with Alex. He had been everything she admired in a man, even if she wasn´t so sure to trust him all through the book. Sometimes she had been screaming at Jill to not trust him. But in the end, her first instinct had been true. Letting her gaze wander to the right, she found another book from Brenda Joyce. It was called Dark Seduction. Raising an eyebrow at the title she took it in her hands and read the back. Highlander, powers, time travelling, lust and ecstasy. Okay she had to buy it. Continueing looking, her eyes landed on a cover that was known all over the world. Smiling she decided to take it with her. Her son would loved it, just as she had. Harry Potter and the Philosopher stone.

" Strange combination".

Maria had been so in her thoughts that she hadn´t noticed that the clerk was standing besides her. Glancing at the store she finally realized they were alone now. " I´m sorry. What?".

The young man pointed at the books in her hand. " You brought an erotic thriller and a childs book".

" The first is for me. And the other for my son, when he´s old enough to understand what I´m reading", Maria felt her cheeks heating up, not knowing why. It wasn´t like she was embarrassed to be detected buying an adult book or even shy to admit that she liked the Harry Potter books.

Her counterpart grinned amused, liking the slight red color in her face. She was a stunning beauty, even with her pregnant state. Looking at her fingers, he noticed that she didn´t have a ring there, indicating that she wasn´t married. But it didn´t mean anything nowadays, because not every couple was married when they decided to have children. " Don´t worry, I won´t tell anyone".

Maria was charmed by him, although she didn´t even know his name. " By the way my name is Maria", stretching her hand out she waited until he grasped it.

" I´m Ben", taking the offered hand he kissed the back of it softly. The skin felt as soft as he had imagined and even better. He wondered how the rest of her would feel like.

Maria felt a faint flush covering her face and she tried to get it under control. It were probably her hormones all over the place or the fact that he was the first person not treating her like a woman with disease or someone everybody wanted to cuddle all day long. Okay he was nice, but nothing for her. She was still pining after another boy. " So, is this shop yours", she made an attempt to change the topic.

Ben noted the slight unease and decided to be a gentleman. Besides she had probably someone waiting for her at home or at least at the place they were staying. " No, it belongs to my mother. But I´m helping her out whenever I can. I´m actually a Deputy", leading her towards the back of the shop he noticed her startling at the last part. " What is it? You´re afraid of me now, knowing that I´m from the police?".

" No it´s not that", Maria was wary, not trusting everyone working for the goverment. It wasn´t him, but she thought she would always fear them now, thinking they would realize who she was and putting her back into this hell. But now she had made him suspicious of her and she had to distract him with something. " My whole family are bounty hunters and we´re not on friendly terms with law enforcement, you know".

Ben was staring at her, trying to decipher if she was pulling his leg. She wasn´t looking like a bounty hunter. But maybe it was the fact that she was pregnant and looking adorable in her cute clothes. In reality she could be someone kicking ass without breaking out in a sweat. Deciding to believe her for the moment he pushed a chair away from the table in front of them, so that she could sit. " I know what you mean. But we´re better than our repatuation, believe me", seeing that her nose was slightly red from the cold he offered her something warm to drink, which she accepted gladly.

So while her host was gone to make her a hot chocolate, Maria viewed the room in which she was now. It seemed to be the storage space for old and new books. At the wall near the door was a painting from a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes. Looking closer at it, she recognized the face. It was Isabel, a little bit older and more plump, but nontheless her. Startling she averted her eyes from the picture and busied herself with observing her enviroment until Ben came back with a tray. Putting it on the table, he gave her a funny looking cup with the steamy goodness in it.

" Who´s the lady on the painting?", Maria asked while she slowly sipped her chocolate, which tasted absolute great. She didn´t know the last time she drank something good like that. Dean just gave her juice, water or tea. He thought it was healthier for the baby.

Ben turned around to see what she meant. Smiling at the portrait he drew his attention back on his guest. " It´s my grand grandmother. She died when I was four or five years old".

Maria smiled back at him, enjoying company not behaving like children. It wasn´t like she didn´t like Dean and Sam, quite on the contrary. She felt safe with them and like she was really part of their family. But sometimes they were driving her crazy with their banter and pranks, although amusing at times it could get annoying the more one had to listen to it. " So. You wanted to tell me something about this hookman".

" You don´t beat around the bush, do you?", Ben was amused about the out spoken woman in front of him. She wasn´t like any other and he had noticed it as soon as she had set foot in the shop. She was special in some kind and he had been having the urge to protect her. From what he didn´t know. But maybe it was her delicate condition.

Maria noticed the heat rising in her cheeks again. Why was it that she blushed everytime he said something about her. She wasn´t some school girly or some dumb cheerleader. For heavens sake she wasn´t even attracted to this man. " No. I usually get straight to the point. Why wasting time?".

Ben had to admire such trait. It was rare that such young women had the guts to say what was on their minds. Usually they tried to talk it to death before they came to the point. It was nice to see that there were still normal people around. " Okay. I don´t know much, just what people told. There´s this story about some preacher named Jacob Carns, who murdered 13 prostitutes with a hook. He lost his arm by accident or so was told. I didn´t believe this stories until I saw bad things".

" I can relate. I saw pretty strange stuff, too", Maria thought about the whole citizen of Roswell disappear from a giant green glowing alien penis, a blue glowing disgusting thing shooting out of a mans chest and real living aliens eating everything with tabasco.

Ben shook his head like he wanted to make the picture in his mind go away. Weakly he smiled at her and wondered what mystery was behind her beautiful brown eyes. She seemed to have more experience with bad things like him, despite her young appearance. " Do you know the feeling that somethings going on and you don´t know what? That something happened and you missed it?".

Maria chuckled slightly. She had that feeling her whole life. Until recently she thought she was dreaming or someone else was living the life that was supposed to be hers. But now that she found a place where she was needed and people accepting her wholeheartly, she found her life not so bad anymore, even if she still wished that everything would have gone differently. " Yeah. I´m still a teenager, I feel that every other day".

" I know it´s rude to ask someone after the age, but I´m curious how young you really are", Ben guessed her barely twenty or at least over eighteen. Everything else would be surprisingly. She appeared more mature than every teenager he knew.

Maria brushed a curly strand behind her ear, feeling uncomfortable about the topic. She knew that as soon as they knew her age they stared at her like she was a whore. But at least she was old enough to be responsible and being able to fend for herself if the need should arise someday. " I´m 19. I know it´s pretty young to be in my condition, but being in love makes you blind, deaf and obviously stupid".

Ben noted the sharp tone in her voice at the end. Apparently the father of her child left her or it didn´t take a good end with them. Laying his hand on hers in sympathy, he made a serious face. " Seems like you had bad experience with love".

" Actually it´s really complicated", Maria wasn´t comfortable to talk to a stranger about Michael. Well, she didn´t want to tell him too much about her in case the FBI would ask questions. Besides she always forgot what she told and she was afraid to say the wrong thing. Thankfully she was saved in the form of her cellphone ringing in the pocket of her jacket. Getting it out of there and seeing the ID on the display, she stood up from the chair. " Excuse me for a moment", Hurriedly she walked out of the backroom before putting her cellphone on her ear. " Yeah, what´s up?".

" _Where are you? We think we found something"._

" Me too. I found out about a preacher named Jacob..".

" _Yeah we got that. He murdered 13 Prostitutes with a Hook. Unfortunately we don´t know where he´s buried exactly. So where are you?"._

" I´m in a bookstore near our hotel. It´s a small building with a dry cleaner besides it".

" _Stay there, we´re pickung you up in five minutes"._

" Okay. See you then".

Maria clapped her cellphone shut and turned around, a small smile appearing on her face. She wouldn´t say it out loud but she liked it to have such great persons at her side, who were worried about her and took good care of her. Shaking her head she went back to Ben. " I´m sorry. That was my older brother. I have to go in a few minutes".

Ben jumped to his feet immediately and walked towards her. His expression told her that he didn´t want her to go yet, but he wouldn´t ask her to stay longer. " Too bad. But maybe we´ll see each other again".

" Yeah. The town isn´t exactly big. We defintely will cross path again", Maria hoped that Dean or at least Sam where with her then, because Ben was making her uneasy with his regard in her direction. Stepping at the table she got her books which she had dropped there. " I just have to pay for these".

Ben smiled at her with sickening force. It almost blinded her. " You don´t have to pay for them. I´ll give them you as a present".

Maria wanted to pay for them, because she was sure that he expected something in return and according to his lewd gaze it was something sexual or even a date. Hopefully she was wrong about that, but she wanted to be sure. " I can´t do that".

" I´ll insist", pushing the books at her chest, he finally noticed the guy standing at the shop door and waving with his arms. " I think your brother arrived".

Maria whirled around and was so relieved to see Dean giving her a sign to boot. He wasn´t exactly looking happy, which meant two things : They were at a dead end or he was hungry. This time it was probably a mix of the both. Facing Ben she tried to put on her best smile. " Thank you for the hot chocolate and the books. I hope we´ll see each other soon".

Ben bent quickly forward and kissed her cheek, shocking her and him with the act. " See you. And be careful".

" You, too", fastly she stormed towards the door and opened it. Happily she threw herself in Deans arms, glad to be in the presence of people she knew. She noticed Sam sitting in the car and grinning at her. He held a huge bag of McD´s in his hand and winked it at her. " I´m so relieved that you´re here".

Dean pushed her away from him and looked in her face. Worriedly he glanced over her shoulder at the guy watching them. " Did he do something to you? Should I beat him up?".

Maria shook her head while leading Dean at the car. She just wanted to eat something and do something other than talking to strange man trying to hit on her. Eww, did she look like an easy girl or what? Some males were sick, plain and simple. " No. I think he put a move on me. He gave me this books for free".

" And? What´s so bad with that?", Dean waited until his surrogate sister was comfortly sitting in the backseat before getting in the car himself. He didn´t know why she made such a fuss. It wasn´t like the guy had been pushing her or something.

Maria stared at the back of his head with a raised eyebrow. Men, they were all the same. " Do you forgot my large belly and the child inside? I´m pregnant, which means I´m pretty much off the market".

Sam turned his head around and smiled at her, clearly amused about her comment. She didn´t know how people saw her or especially men saw her. She was a small girl, which every male wanted to protect or at least take in their arms. " You forget that you´re beautiful, even with your rounder belly. Besides men have a distinctly protective instinct".

" Not to mention the added bonus in your bra", Dean pointed out which immediately got punished from two hands slapping the back of his head. " What? I was just saying".

Maria huffed angrily. Why couldn´t Dean be more like his brother? Sweet, caring and so adorable while he was rude, chauvinistic and most of the time led by his dick. " Shut up, pig. If I want to hear something stupid I would have asked".

Sam grinned at his brother and tried to get his laughter in check. He was so glad to have someone at his side and it wasn´t so bad that Dean wasn´t so angry anymore. Maria took sometimes the tension out of a situation when the siblings started to clash against each other, what happened at least once in a week. " That´s one of our lovely Ms. Maria and zero for grumpy Dean".

" Whatever Dude", Dean ignored them both, although he liked it when he got in a verbal fight with Maria. She wasn´t just a girl taking his shit and she always came with good comebacks. Sometimes he forgot that she wasn´t really part of his family, because she would fit perfectly. His father would immediately take a liking to her, he was sure of that.

Maria and Sam faced each other with amused expressions. It wouldn´t take long before Dean caved in, trying to gave them a piece of their minds.

**A day later**

After Maria talked to Ben, because Dean and Sam like usual got arrested and she wanted to get them out of there, the three made their way to the Impala. The brothers had grim faces while Maria should be the one being pissed. They just went out without her and got picked up from the police, also without her.

" I thought you´re being careful. But no you had to draw attention to yourself. Be glad that I had this nice conversation with Ben yesterday or else you would be still be sitting behind bars".

Sam looked guiltily at her. They often had problems with the police, it wasn´t so unusual for them. But Maria worried about them and it made him feel bad, because he didn´t want that. " How did you get us out by the way?".

Maria scratched her eyebrow, the way she had seen Michael do it a lot of times when he was nervous. Sheepishly she looked between the brothers and tried to get her heating cheeks under control. " I accepted a date with Ben", hurriedly she walked to the car before one of them could laugh at her.

" Did she just say she has a date with the strange dude from the bookstore?", Dean stopped in his tracks and shared a confused glance with his sibling. No he had to have misheard, because this couldn´t be. Yesterday she complaid all the way to the hotel about the creep and that she felt really uneasy in his presence and now she was going out with him.

Sam tried to refrain from sniggering. The look on his brothers face was just too funny. The way his eyes darted from her to the police station and then the glare directed at the building, like he could burn the other man with his glance. " Yeah. Seems like we have another job to do. Keeping an eye out for her".

Dean cursed quietly while he continued his way towards his car. At least his baby was making no trouble like someone who should not be named. Now he knew why he never wanted a little sister. He would have pummeled every guy knocking at the door. " Damn straight, I´m not leaving her alone with this bastard. Asking a pregnant girl out. Who does that for gods sake? Just freaks and loons".

" Last night you said something different", Sam opened the passenger door and jumped on the seat all the while trying to keep his amusement to a minimum. He never saw his brother so agitated over something not concerning him, their father or something demonical.

Dean slumped in the seat besides his brother and glared in the review mirror at the person in the back, who was too busy with looking in her compact mirror to notice the heated gaze thrown her way. " And? That was yesterday and I had a bad day".

Sam shrugged his shoulders, dismissing the topic. It was of no use to discuss something with his sibling in his strange state anyway. They just would start fighting with no winner in the end and Maria had to interfere to prevent them from killing each other. " So what have we planned today?".

" We wanted to look for the grave of this preacher. Ben told me we should look for a grave with no inscription", Maria thought it was safe to open her mouth again. Unfortunately the stony silence from the driver was telling something different.

Dean started the car and drove from the curb with squeaking tires. He rolled his eyes when he heard a honk behind him. Stretching his arm out he gave the idiot his middle finger before continueing his way. " Oh Ben said that, he?".

Maria was close to strangle him, he had been in a sour mood since she got them out of the police departement. She glanced at Sam, trying to get to know what was going on. Unfortunately he seemed as clueless as her. " What is your problem? I bailed you out and it won´t get in your record. What more do you want?".

" I want to protect you. But I can´t do that when you throw yourself in a dangerous situation without thinking about the consequences", Dean saw himself as the only one capable of defending her and his brother. She had managed what just a few people in his life had. She had found a way around his walls and into his heart. And dammit, he didn´t want to lose her, like he lost his mother.

Maria threw her arms in the air and groaned angry. That sentence sounded awefully familiar to her. Why did everyone think she wasn´t able to take care of herself? Firstly Michael with his I´m breaking up because I love you speech and now Dean. God, she had more power than all the weapons in the trunk and they treated her like a baby. " You know what. Forget it. I´m not fighting with you on this".

Dean turned his attention on the review mirror again and saw her sulkingly sitting in the backseat. Her arms crossed over her huge belly. Damn, he hated when she did that. It made him always feel guilty. " How about we call it truce and we will take you with us to the cemetery to look for this grave?".

" You would do that? You´re risking that I will throw myself in a dangerous situation and you can´t protect me?", Maria cursed her good heart, because although her reply had been sarcastic, she already forgave him. He was just too cute when he played the defender of the innocent.

Sam, sensing another verbal confrontation butted in before all hell broke loose. He didn´t want to be present when they started their second round. " Hey Dean, can you drop me off at Lori´s? I want to keep an eye on her in case the Hookman should attack again".

Dean glanced at his brother horrorfied. Was he for real? He couldn´t just leave them alone. That would just backfire. But then he thought about the girl who lost her boyfriend to some killer. " All right. But if your cellphone rings, take the call. It´s either Maria, who has killed me or me having killed her".

" I will remember that".

**That evening**

Dean stumbled over the trampled path leading past the graves. He saw that many of the tombstones were old, others in return seemed to be new. Flashing his way, he turned around to see if Maria could follow him. Realizing that she had trouble keeping up with him, he grasped her cold hand and pulled her closer. He didn´t want to lose her in the dark and he wanted to be sure that she didn´t do something stupid like wandering around.

" Oh shit, it´s really creepy here", Maria watched all sides, wanting to be sure that all deads were still in their coffins under the earth. She saw too many horror movies and knew what usually happened when a boy and a girl spent their evening on a cemetery.

Dean chuckled at her. She had faced at least three demons already, one of them had been a scary looking wendigo, then there was this shapeshifter pretending to be him and a pretty ugly ghost. And now she was complaining about the graves? " Don´t worry. I will be here to keep you away from all harm".

Maria slapped his shoulder, but instantly pressed herself tighter at his body when she heard an owl. She wondered why she wanted to come here. She could be in their nice hotel room and watching some movie with snacks and a cozy blanket to keep her warm. " That´s not funny".

" Oh look. I think we found our destination", Dean stopped in his tracks and held the flashlight down to the unknown grave at their feet. A little grass and weed was blocking the sight, but it was the grave they searched for. Taking the shovel he started to dig.

Maria meanwhile took the flashlight and shone it at the ground. Her hands were slightly shaking from the cold and she hoped that Dean was hurrying before chillblains were forming on her face. Watching him straining his muscular arms made her happy though. He had all the work and she was just observing. Sometimes it was good to be pregnant. People did everything for you and if you started to cry in the middle of a shop nobody thought you were crazy. Remembering her state, she noted that the whole day she had felt so strange. Her back was hurting her a little and a few times she had been feeling light headed. She knew that it could be so far every day now. She counted the hours it would take to see her son for the first time. She just regretted that Michael didn´t have the chance to be there or that he would ever see his son. But unfortunately he hadn´t given her a chance to decide for herself. He had taken that out of her hands and now he would have to live with it. She would do good with her two companions. She wouldn´t need him or her other supposed friends.

" I´ve got the coffin. Come closer, I can´t see anything", Dean threw the shovel from the hole he was standing in and stepped back to open the lid. Before he came to that, a muffled Oh god was heard from above. Worriedly he looked up at the wide eyes of Maria. " What is it?".

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**In the previous chapter**

" _I´ve got the coffin. Come closer, I can´t see anything", Dean threw the shovel from the hole he was standing in and stepped back to open the lid. Before he came to that, a muffled Oh god was heard from above. Worriedly he looked up at the wide eyes of Maria. " What is it?"._

Maria stared at him with shock and then at her feet. The legs of her trousers were soaking wet and she felt mortified. But finally she knew why she had been feeling so strangly all day long. Bizarre was just that there was no pain or at least a pinching like she got told it would happen. " My water just broke".

Dean glanced at the puddle forming on the ground under her before facing her. Two seconds later he jumped from the hole and wrapped his arms around her, fearing she could topple over any minute. " Oh hell, are you alright? Do you feel any pain? Oh god, I should bring you immediately into the hospital".

" Don´t panic. I will sit for a minute so that you can do your thing. We have time", Maria waited for any indication that she was really in labor and not just false alarm. But except the water at her feets there wasn´t anything. Carefully she sat down all the while holding hands with Dean, who was seconds away from losing his head.

Dean felt like a headless chicken, running around without even knowing what he was doing. On the one hand he needed to salt and burn the remains of this preacher guy, but on the other hand he had to get Maria into a hospital fast. " Don´t move, okay. A minute, just give me a minute and we´re out of here".

Maria smirked in his direction. He was more blown than her and she was the one expecting a child at the moment. She had to suffer the pain of pushing something from the size of a watermelone out of a hole from the size of a lemon. Just the thought hurt her already. " It´s alright. I´m fine. Well for now".

" I´ll hurry", Dean took the salt out of his gym bag he had dropped besides the grave and sprinkled it over the bones, so that everything was covered. After that he pulled the matches out and light on of it before throwing it on the dead remains. The moment he saw that his work was done, he grapped his bag, went to Maria, helped her on her feet and half dragged, half carried her to the impala, where he almost dumped her in the passenger seat before jumping in the car himself. With squeaking tires he drove away from the cemetery and into the night.

Maria held on the handle of the door to prevent herself from getting squished into the seat or shaken around. If he wasn´t careful she would puke all over his baby. He was driving like a lunatic, even worse than Michael. " Can you do me a favour and NOT DRIVE SO FAST".

Dean ignored her outburst, he was already used to her weird behaviour. Taking away his right hand from the steering wheel, he searched his jacket pocket for his cellphone. He needed to inform the other member of the team about the delay in his departure. After a few seconds he found what he was looking for and speed dailed his brother, who was immediately on the other end, like almost knowing what was going on. " Hey Sam, we´re on our way to the hospital. Maria´s ready to shoot the next generation of demon hunters out of her loins".

" _Oh shit! Are you for real? I´m on my way to the hospital, too. Lori´s father was attacked from our hookman. Now I know why"._

" No, that can´t be. I covered his remains with salt and burned everything before we drove away".

" _Maybe you missed something? It could happen, especially knowing that you have a soon to be mother with you. How is she by the way?"._

" She´s good. Complaining about my driving skills and she wants to cut off all penises to save the womenfolk from stupid neanthertals trying to lure them into their bed or something".

" _Yep. That´s sounds like her. Tell her I´m excited to be uncle Sam"._

" Uncle Sam? Now that´s something I can´t wait to hear for the first time. Maybe I should buy you a hat with stars and stripes and maybe the matching costume".

" _You´re so funny, unkie Deanie. See you later. If Maria decides to let you live"._

Dean stared at the phone and listened to the busy tone ringing through the speaker. Unkie Deanie? Hopefully the squirt learned from day one that he wasn´t Deanie something. He was just Dean, no nickname and no minimazation in any kind. He wasn´t some sissy boy or a damn teddybear. " Can you believe him? He just threw me out of the line".

Maria was glad that her companion decided to get off a little from the accelerator. Now they were driving at a normal pace and she didn´t have to be scared that they would wrap the car around a tree or a pole. " Shocking! Can I ask you something? Were you born so charming or did you learn that?".

" Honey, I was born that way", Dean grinned at her, knowing that she was sarcastic. Thankfully for her, she had a good reason for being so or else he would hit her with some verbal comeback that would get her panties in a twist.

Maria wanted to slap the stupid smug smile out of his face. As much as she liked him most of the time, he could be so damn infuriatating and get her mad without even trying. And strangle it felt so freaking familiar that she liked it in a sick way. " Yeah, thought so", suddenly pain was shooting through her stomach, so bad that she thought her inside would be pulled to the outside. Bending forward she tried to use the breathing technique she read in a book Sam had brought her. Unfortunately her body had other ideas and she started huffing like a steam engine.

Dean almost crashed in the ditch besides them when he saw her pain stricken face and heard the way she was breathing. The pain finally arrived and he didn´t know what to do. He would love to help her, but he didn´t know how. " Don´t panic. Stay calm and try to breath evenly".

" Don´t tell me what to do! If you feel your organs trying to escape your body then I want to see how calm you will be!", Maria concentrated on him. As long as he was telling stupid things she had something distracting her. Thankfully the contraction was over for now and she felt all her muscles relax again. " Puh. That had been something".

Dean prayed to the big guy above when he saw the hospital. They were almost there and he was never so relieved to be out of his car and he was scared that Maria could throw something nasty at him again. As soon as he found a parking space he steered towards it and put his impala there. Fastly he opened the door and jumped out before going to the other side and pulling his pregnant company out. Then he took her hand and slowly lead her to the entrance. Before they even came close to the door, Maria was hit with another contraction and she squeezed his hand so tight that he thought she wanted to break every bone. His mouth open in a silent scream and he almost crashed on the ground from the pain shooting through his arm. Seconds later she released him and his poor crippled hand.

" Wow, that had been the worst so far", Maria turned to Dean and saw his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Confused she looked down at the way he was holding his red and slightly swollen hand. " Opps".

Dean eyed the pale thing that had been his hand. He had encountered many demons and he had been hurt twice as much, but this had been to most painful experience of his life. Trying to put away the hurt of his limb like a man he faced the devil disguised in this small girl. " You almost destroy my hand and all you can say is Opps?".

Maria rolled her eyes at him while taking his good hand and dragging him behind her in the direction of the entrance. It wasn´t like she had done it on purpose. It had been an accident and he had been stabbed a few times, so he shouldn´t make so much noise. " Don´t be such a baby".

" I´m not a baby", Dean trailed slightly offended behind her and tried to pull his unharmed hand back into safety before she decided to destroy it, too. Smiling relieved he noted a doctor already walking towards them and he was more than happy to give him his newest patient. " I need help. My sister is in labor".

The doctor called immediately to a nurse that they needed a wheelchair while he supported the small girl, looking awefully young to be pregnant. " Breath evenly and don´t worry. You´re in good hands now".

As soon as the sentence was out a young woman in uniform stormed towards them with a wheelchair. Instantly the doctor sat Maria in it and wheeled her away. Dean was in the process to go with them when the nurse grasped his arm and told him that he had to fill out a formular for his sister. Worriedly he glanced after them, fearing that she could do something stupid and make the people suspicious about her not anymore human state. Hurriedly he took the clip board in his hands and wrote everything he knew on it. Giving it back to the nurse, she pointed at the direction the doctor disappeared with the mother to be. Halfway he crashed against his brother.

" Hey where is our third member?".

Dean looked more than a little freaked. He sensed that Maria needed his help and he wasn´t there. Strange, he never had felt something like that and hopefully it wouldn´t happen so often to him. " I´m on my way to her. Come on".

Sam followed after his distraught brother, wondering what had him so worried. Women got babies everyday, it was nothing unusual. But then he remembered her out of this world status and he walked a little faster. It wasn´t so bad to be cautious. " Dude, you don´t think she will do something strange?".

" I hope not".

Nearing the room she was in, they stopped in their tracks when they heard a loud crash, like something metallic fell on the ground. Afraid she could be using her powers or do something suspicious they hurried inside, just in time to see Maria lying in a bed with her feet propped up wide apart while, sweating like crazy and cursing every men with their torture tools. The doctor was partly under a cloth that was draped over her legs.

Sam seeing that felt the blood leaving his face. Oh no, he couldn´t stand the sight of that. Nothing against giving birth, but there still were things that he wasn´t particularly fond of to witness in his life, which this was one of it. " I think I´m looking after Lori´s dad again. You won´t be needing my help here".

" Dude, you can´t leave me alone with her! Sam! Sam! Sammy!", Dean cursed after the retreating back of his brother. That bastard just walked away and he was here with the girl from the exorcist. Grimacing he rubbed his forehead before turning to Maria. " Hey honey. Can I do something for you? Getting you something to drink, eat or drugs?".

Maria shook her head, although drug didn´t sound so bad, but she didn´t know how they would affect her son, considering the aliens were slightly allergic against alcohol. " Just don´t leave. I don´t want to be alone".

Dean wondered how someone could change their mood in such a short time. At first she was cursing like a sailor and now she was sweet as a cute kitten. Damn, he didn´t want any kids in the future. Well it was a moot point anyway, he would never marry. " Don´t worry. I will be at your side the whole time".

" Thank you, you´re such a good person and I love you", Maria took his hand, the one she almost destroyed and stroked it carefully. She wanted to make amends for hurting him. That hadn´t been her intention. He was a sweet guy and if they would be related for real, she would be glad to have him for a brother.

Dean was wary at first, because every moment a contraction could hit her again and this time she would probably rip his arm out of his socket. But then he noticed the strange sensation hitting him, the warm feeling flowing into his hand and the throbbing leaving slowly. Although he liked it that the pain lessened, he was a little surprised. She had powers, he could handle. But healing someone? Like that blind preacher that took his illness? " Yeah. Love you, too", turning to the doctor who finally came out from under the cloth he added. " Did you give her something already?".

The doctor glanced at the young man a little confused. " No, she didn´t want something for the pain". After that he turned to the mother to be with a small smile. " You´re ready to give birth. We will get you into the delivery room immediately"

" NO. I´m not ready. I can´t be a mother. Dean tell him to wait a little longer", Maria was desperately clinging to her supposed brother and begged with tears in her eyes. It was too soon for her, she couldn´t take care of a small person. She couldn´t even take care of herself at times. And her son would be different than other kids.

Dean saw the distressed state she was in and took her face in his hands to look deep in her eyes. She had to calm down, for Alex´s sake. " You will be a good mother, the best mother. You´re taking care of us, tend to our wounds when we´re hurt and you give us something back that we thought lost. A sense of family"

Maria didn´t know if it was his words or something entirely different, but she felt herself getting calmer. Noticing her breathing wasn´t so quick any longer she smiled at him. He was such a wonderful man and she was happy to have him at her side. " Thank you".

" You don´t have to thank me, I have to thank you", and he really meant it. It wasn´t just a figure of speech, every word was coming from his heart. He didn´t usually talk about his feelings, because he thought they would make him weak, but she managed to drag them out of him from time to time.

Maria looked at the doctor, who was staring at them amused. " Okay doc, let´s get this show on the road".

**At some hotel in New Orleans**

The streets were full of people, thousands of voices sounded through town, music was playing and everyone was happy. Mardi Gras was usually the time of having fun and forgetting problems for a while. Unfortunately for two people was fun the last thing on their minds. Isabel and Michael just sat day in and out at the same places and looked outside with their sad eyes. Sometimes a sob would escape one of them, but otherwise they were rather quiet. Liz was worrying about her friends and at their state they seemed to be in. Since driving back towards Roswell and finding Jesse dead at the silver mine in Galitas, everything went from bad to worse. The base where they supposedly held Maria was burned down at the time the arrived there and days later they read a newspaper where an article was that a girl was found dead in some hotel. The picture was clearly showing Maria. Michael had almost destroyed the cars with his powers and caused unwanted attention to them. But nobody had dared to say something, feeling with him. Max had been the one trying to comfort his best friend in his bad time. But Michael had pushed everyone away and backtracked into his nutshell again. Isabel had stopped talking and eating for a week before Liz started taking care of the other girl. Kyle for once hadn´t found some words to express his feelings. Everyone was feeling the strain of running away and losing people they loved.

" We have to do something or we´re losing them, too", Liz was at the end of her wisdom. She couldn´t help someone wanting no help in the first place. Letting her gaze wander to the two persons sitting in front of the wall, she repressed the urge to cry. She had lost her best friend, too.

Max took both hands of his wife and tried to give her some of his comfort. He was scared to confess the same thought had crossed his mind. He watched his siblings almost all the time, fearing they could do something stupid. " What do you suggest? How do you help someone who just lost its soulmate?".

Liz didn´t want to know the answer to that one. Just the thought to lose her husband was making her sick. She didn´t want to imagine how that would feel to her. It had been hard enough to make him fall out of love with her and push him in the direction of Tess. But this would be probably thousand times worse. " But we can´t just watch them killing themself".

" Maybe it´s just best to let them. They will come out of whatever they´re into when they think it´s time", just as Kyle had finished that sentence, Michael moaned loudly while he held his head with both hands. After a few seconds he jumped to his feet with tears in his eyes and a smile that would have lit the room. " See. What I said".

Michael almost knocked Isabel from her place and stormed towards the three people sitting at the other side of the room. " She´s alive. I just received a flash from her. Maria isn´t dead".

Liz was the first to react to the news. As much as she didn´t believe in miracles, she wished for one right now. According to the happy expression from Michael it seemed to have worked, too. " Really? How do you know it´s real?".

" Because I felt her again. Our connection sprung to life for a moment and I saw my son", it was the best feeling he ever received and the most beautiful picture he would ever see. He was a father.

Liz looked at her husband with tears in her eyes. The thought she could have lost her best friend without being there to say goodbye had broke her heart. But now she had a chance to fix her damage friendship with Maria, at least when they would find her, which he feared would be really difficult. But Michael would probably search for her as long as he lived if not longer. " Did you see where she was? Anything jumped your eye that you could recognize?".

Michael thought about the flash and the things he had seen there. He had concentrated so hard on his son, that he hadn´t noticed anything around him. Straining his brain to remember, he thought he saw the name of the doctor on his white coat. But he couldn´t see the hospital. " I know the name of the doctor. It´s Wylie".

" We can work with that. We just need a computer", Liz pondered where they would find a computer at this time they could use. The library was closed because of Mardi Gras, the other shops as well. Klicking her nail on her lip she thought about a plan. " Stay there. I´ll be back in a while. Try to get Izzy to eat"

Max watched after the retreating back of his wife. He still felt uncomfortable to let her go away alone, even if they hadn´t seen a FBI Agent for a long time. But he knew that she was careful and he trusted her instinct. " Let´s see after Isabel".

Kyle, who had been already in the process to feed the usual strong girl sitting on the bed and staring a hole into the wall, was quietly talking to her. He, apart from maybe Michael, was the only one really paying attention to Isabel and seeing her slowly dying inside. " Please. Just eat a spoon of this yummy jello. I even doused it in tabasco for you. You can´t just leave me alone with Tweedle dee, Tweedle dum and pissy Guerin".

" Hey. I´m may have been out of it for a while but I´m still strong enough to kick your ass", Michael sat besides his sister, worried about her state. He didn´t know her so absent and quiet. She had been always so full of life and in action. And now she was just a shell of her former self. But he knew how she felt right now, having been at the same place himself. Lucky for him he received a proof of life from Maria.

Max knelt in front of Isabel and tried to look in her blank eyes. But it seemed like she was looking right through him and not at him. Taking her hand he sent her some of his love and hoped to get a small sign from her. " Hey Izzybelle. You have to eat. We´re lost without you. And you´re the only family I have left right now. Don´t let me lose you".

Michael was sure that it wouldn´t get them anywhere. Isabel would either come out of it when she got over the pain of losing her husband or would slowly die. He never knew that a heart could break, but now he had proof. " Let her. We can´t do anything right now. She has to fight this battle alone. All we can do is be there for her when she comes back to us".

" But what if she´s never coming back? What if she dies? I couldn´t live with myself if I could have done something to save her", Max felt bad for Jesse, he really did. But he just wanted his sister back. He didn´t know what she was going through at the moment, but he knew that she was destroying herself right now and he didn´t want that.

Michael put his hands on his brothers shoulder. He felt with him, because Isabel was the closest after Maria that he had. She had always been someone he talked to when something went down. But he knew that they couldn´t save someone if he didn´t want to be saved. They just had to be patient with her. She would snap out of her funk sooner or later. " She needs this time alone right now. Leave her and you will see in a few days she will be back to be the pain in the ass princess we know".

Max felt useless and so tired, an emotion he thought wasn´t in him. He just wanted to take a vacation from all this worrying and fearing that someone would find them. And now with the knowledge to have killed Jesse was weighting heavily on his soul. " Okay. But if something happens I´ll blame you for it.".

" I´ve got it! I know where we have to go", Liz choose this moment between the young men to storm through the door with a few papers in her hands and a smile that was almost blinding them.

Michael immediately jumped to his feet and went to her. Taking the papers out of her hands he read what stood on it. Unbelieving he stared at the others in the room. " Iowa? We have to go to Iowa?", seeing Liz nod besides him, he sighed. " Well, than what are we waiting for. Let´s go.

**Iowa**

Maria felt like she ran a marathon around the world, climbed on the Himalaya and the Grand Canyon while carrying a car on her shoulders. But she had never felt more happy. Looking down at the small bundle in her arms she was relieved that everything was over and she could finally hold her son. Playing with his tiny little fingers and seeing his brown eyes staring at her was the best feeling in the world. She couldn´t even find the words for her condition. It had been a few hard hours to get at this place now, but it had been worth it. And Dean had been such a great help with listening to her angry curses and encouraging her. Unfortunately he had been in a hurry to meet with Sam as soon as Alex was born that he even hadn´t the time to look at the small boy properly.

" You´re such a beautiful baby. I could eat you", snuggling her nose at the tiny head of her son, which had a few dark hairs on it, she smelled the scent of baby lotion and powder. It was something she could smell all day long.

Suddenly a knock was heard at the door and seconds later two badly beaten young men come in. One of them had a nasty bruise at the side of the forehead while the other seemed to be just wasted.

" Hey mommy. How are you?", Sam was the first one walking closer and looking down to glance at the newest member of their troop. Overlooking the slightly wrinkled face, he thought it was the cutest thing he ever saw.

Maria smiled brightly at her "brothers". She couldn´t describe what was going on inside her now, it was a mix between absolute happiness and pride, something that made her feel like she would explode of joy. But on the other hand her body was so tired that she thought she could sleep for a week. " Like a got hit by a truck and very much relieved".

Dean stepped besides his brother to really look at the squirt. He had been in such a hurry to get to Sam that he hadn´t been having time to do it. He just saw something small and slick before he stormed off. But now watching those tiny hands moving around while the small eyes were staring so innocently at him, he knew that the little man would be a good looking young man some day. " He´s so adorable", nudging his brother he tried to keep his snicker to a minimum. " Unlike you. You had been downright ugly when Mom brought you home".

" Do you want to hold him for a moment?", Maria needed a little breather. Her arms were hurting and she noticed that she was more tired than she thought. She was close to fall asleep and she didn´t want to drop her son.

Sam was immediately ready to take the small bundle. Carefully he laid the tiny boy in his bent arm to support the little head. Slightly craddling Alex he was in awe how good it felt to have a baby in his arms. " Hey there buddy. Welcome to this world. I´m uncle Sammy and I will be the one teaching you everything you need to know", glancing at his brother, he saw the uncertainty in the other man´s eyes. Slowly Sam turned the boy to Dean. " So this your other uncle Deanie. He will teach you how you can charm girls without talking, how much a person can eat, how to hold your beer down and how to make money without working".

Dean snorted at that. He could do so much more, he just didn´t want to do it. Besides those were good lectures, something you didn´t learn in school. It brought him through puberty and further. " Don´t listen to the geek. He´s just jealous, because I have more fun".

" I beg to differ", Sam raised both eyebrows and glanced at his brother like he was dumb. He wasn´t jealous, just miffed about the fact that he always was the one who had take the responsibility. Sometimes Maria was helping, but she was just a child herself.

Dean refrained himself from sticking his tongue out or show him his middlefinger. Instead he glared at his little brother and then took the baby from his grasp. He would probably infect the poor boy with the same illness he had. A stick up the ass. " Give him to me. Hopefully I can save his young soul", securing the bundle in his arms he smiled down at Alex. Stroking with one hand over the soft head, he remembered the day his parents came home with Sam. He had been so excited to be a big brother. He imagined the things he could do with him and how much fun they would be having. Unfortunately his hopes were crushed when he saw how tiny his little brother was. A little angry he wondered what he should do with Sam when he couldn´t even talk or walk. Until his father laid him in his arms and told him to take care of his brother. And he stuck to this promise til today and he would always stick to it. " Hey little man. I have to give you a few rules. Firstly I´m the better looking uncle and much cooler. Secondly you will grow up with Classic Rock music and not that pansy ass crap your other uncle listens to. Thirdly no soiling my car, even if you´re a baby. I´m a little sensitive when it comes to MY baby. And fourthly, we all protect each other so that means you´re the most safest baby in this world and we will see that it stays that way. You´re in good hands".

Sam was speechless and shocked. Who would have thought that his brother had indeed a soft spot for something outside his car? Turning his head to Maria, he noticed that she finally fell asleep. Covering her with the blanket, he gave Dean a sign to be quiet. Together they walked to the chairs standing at the window and took a seat there. Until deep into the night they sat at that place and watched over her while amusing their youngest member.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanx to RedJewel2662, Callista Wolfwood, ChlarkCandy, Ruby Winchester, Fashiongurl3188 and babygirltee for their nice feedback. Here are three new chapters for you. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 7**

Michael was really pissed off and close to do something he would regret later. Thinking about it, no he wouldn´t regret anything. His teeths were grinding and his hands white from making a fist for so long. He was trying for an hour now to keep his anger in, but he noticed that he couldn´t hold it back any longer. Who could blame him? After the first sign in months that his girl was still alive and he had been becoming a father, he had been ecstatic. But immediately after they stepped out of the motel they had been staying in everything went bad. Firstly they couldn´t get to the cars, because of the procession and the many people lining the street as well as the sidewalk. They had needed almost half an hour to reach their cars. Secondly finding a way out of this chaos without driving someone over. That took them an hour without adding the time they needed to figure out which way to drive. And lastly the big traffic jam on the freeway, because a truck loaded with gasoline collided with another truck and both cars exploded. Now they were all stuck in some little motel somewhere in the middle of nowhere until the freeway was open again, which could take all night long, which in return meant they couldn´t continue their way not before the next morning. And Michael didn´t like the thought very much. Not at all. And no one cared about his emotions very much, being busy with their own thoughts. Snorting loudly he wondered what had them occupied. At least it wasn´t about someone they loved so far away from them and not being able to get to them. Taking his jacket, he ignored the questioning glances of his companions and went outside. He couldn´t stay with them in a small room any longer before blowing everything to pieces. Finding a nice quiet and pretty deserted place behind some truck stop he let his anger finally out. With hard and rapidedly punches at the innocent stone wall. He dealt out hit for hit until his knuckles were bloody and his anger had mostly disappeared. Spent he slumped on the ground and put his head in his hands.

" A girl".

Michael startled for a second before he looked up to see an old man with an arpon standing in front of him. In his right hand he had a bag full of garbage, looking exactly like the things he himself had carried out of the crashdown a long time ago. Oh god, it felt like a lifetime that he thought he was living a relative normal life. " What?".

The old man threw the bag into a dumpster besides the sad boy. Sighing he glanced at the youngster and saw something familiar, something that he understood. " I saw what you did to my poor wall. And as a man I know that just a girl or a woman could make us do something silly like that".

" That obvious, hu?", Michael hated to be so open about his feelings. He just did that because he wanted to make Maria happy. And now she wasn´t even there to see how much he had changed, how much she changed him. He had been stupid to let her slide through his hands.

The man stared for awhile before taking a seat himself. He glanced in the distance and seemed to be in his own world. Seconds went by with silence weighting heavy in the air. Until he remembered what made him sit in the first place. " No. I was just in your place once. Twenty-five years ago", pausing slightly he seemed to try to find the right words. " I had been a young man, just barely out of college and ready to take over the world, when I crossed way with a beautiful girl. She had long shaped legs, a butt like a peach and a face like an angel. I´ve never seen so blue eyes in my life and they held me captive, because I wanted to figure out what was going on behind them. Unfortunately I was blind and stupid to trust her. I needed five years to find out that she just used me and was seeing someone else behind my back, a guy she married a year after I broke up with her".

Michael listened curiously, trying to find the reason for this story. He wasn´t there because his girl cheated on him, he was in that state because he was a moron. A screw up that sabotage everything good in his life. " I didn´t get cheated on. I left her during a fight and never looked back. Until I got the news that she´s carrying my child. Now I´m on my way to get her and my child. But as you can see I´m trapped here until the freeway is open again".

" Oh that sounds aweful. Must be a heavy fight when you just packed your bag and left", the older man got a strange twinkle in his eyes and it was looking a little dangerous. His lid twitched slightly and the corner of his mouth moved.

Michael noticed the change in his neighbor and was cautious. Even though they hadn´t seen Agents for a while now, didn´t mean they weren´t there. " Yeah it had been at the time. But now I see that I made a mistake and I want to make amends to her. Maybe she can find a place in her heart to forgive me".

The man dropped his gaze for a moment, like he fell asleep. But when his glance lifted his eyes changed to a strange yellow color. His whole aura seemed to change within seconds and the lights above them flared while the wind picked up speed. " I´m sorry son. But that ain´t happening".

" What the hell?", was the last thing Michael got out before he was knocked out.

**Iowa**

Maria was sitting on her bed, feeling more rested than the day before. Alex was lying peacefully in her arms and was contently sucking at her breast. Here and there his eyes would start to close, but then he seemed to change his mind and his lids went upwards. Maria found that so cute that she was constantly smiling like a damn lunatic. She was so unbelievable happy that she could throw her arms around everyone. The only downside was that Michael wasn´t with her to see what a miracle they had created. Even though she was still more than pissed at him and never wanted to see his face ever again, she thought it was good that he would see his son. But unfortunately he had been going without her, not even caring about her feelings. Noticing the cup of orange juice jumping on the tray in front of her, she remembered to keep her anger in check. It wasn´t helpful if she started to tear the whole hospital apart just by being angry. Feeling the sucking had stopped she put Alex on her shoulder just like the nurse had shown her and tenderly patted his back. After she heard the unmistakable burp, something he had in common with his father and wiped the remains of his puke from his mouth, she wrapped her breast back into her bra again. Watching her son once more, she was in awe how tiny he was and how beautiful. Hearing the sound of loud voices at the door, she knew that it would get noisy in here the next few seconds.

" Hey, do you hear that? Merriment and Mayhem are coming".

Just as the sentence was finished the door was swinging open. The first thing visible was a blue teddybear with " It´s a boy" standing on its tummy. When the bear dropped she saw Sam smiling at her. Close behind him was Dean, with a nice big bag of chinese food in his hand.

" We come bearing gifts".

Maria finally noticed how hungry she was. The grub here in this hospital was really nasty and she decided to rather stay on diet before she caught something. Thankfully her boys did take good care of her. " Chinese! Gimme Gimme Gimme. Dude, I´m starving".

Sam put the teddybear on the nightstand before taking a seat at her bed. He already imagined her empty stomach, having experienced the hospital food himself. And he didn´t wish something on his worst enemy. " Slow down. Give me my nephew first", stretching his arms out he took the small squirt from his mommy and held him. He was still somewhere in disbelieve and joy about this tiny person. " Hey little man. How are you doing today. You gave your mommy quite a hard time last night. I´m glad your both managed everything without any injuries".

" Yeah, me too", Maria snatched a carton with something in it that smelled like chicken and noodles. Opening the carton she took the fork Sam had laid in front of her, poked into it until it was full and took a big bite. Since knowing and become one of the Winchesters she was addictive for junk food in all kinds. Especially pizza, even though Dean had forced her to eat vegetables and fruits from time to time. Like he was one to talk, he would probably die from vitamine shock or something if he should bite into something healthy. The closest he came to fruit was the hooters from a stripper. " You really are the best. I already thought I had to sneak down to the wending machine and steal some candy bars to survive here. Or to take a nurse hostage until I got better food".

Dean laughed about that statement. She was slowly talking like himself and she could eat her own body weight without busting her clothes. She was finally becoming one of them. " You know we´re never let anyone down, especially when it concerns food. Rule number one, always have the number of a pizza service or know the road to some fast food restaurant".

Sam shook his head at them both. He was still amazed about the amount of food both could stow away without gaining weight. Looking down at the squirt in his arms, he wondered how this small man would turn out. " Please, don´t become like them. I beg you. They´re eating like cows and someday it will bite them in the butt".

" You´re just unhappy about the fact that you gain weight just by watching us eat, Dude", Dean said with his mouth full of something that looked like it had been an egg roll. But it was hard to make out with everything mixed up.

Maria was happily stuffing her face while observing the boys and how lovingly they were treating Alex. Thinking about the hell he had been giving her last night, was suddenly drawing her mind to something she forgot to ask. " How was the hunting? Did you get Jacob?".

Sam rocked the little boy on his arms. When he noticed the silence coming from his brother he took the job to inform their third member about the situation. " Everything covered. We send him back to hell. Turns out his hook had been liquified and made into a charm hanging around Lori´s neck. I kept Jacob at bay while Dean destroyed the pendant".

" Yeah. And now our work is done here", Dean added, happy to have saved someone again and closer to getting out of this town. They would just wait until Maria was better and would get out of this place before they would continue their roadtrip. Sam already found a new case they wanted to check out.

Maria´s face fell at that. She knew that their journey together would be coming to an end soon and they needed to say goodbye to each other. She couldn´t burden them with the added risk of another innocent soul. Besides it wasn´t a damn walk in a daisy field raising a baby. " That means our ways will part. When are you leaving?".

Sam exchanged a worried glance with his brother after hearing that question. Leaving without her? Was she mental or what? They didn´t stay to see this little fella born into this world to just leave him and his mother behind. " When the doc give´s the okay for you to get out of here and we can leave together".

" Are you serious? Have you ever lived with a baby? It´s not easy believe me. It´s loud, smelly and needs a lot of attention. Me and Alex would just be a liability to you, something you don´t need right now", Maria was touched that they wanted her and her son with them, but it was highly unbelievable. The brothers were hunters and a baby would be just in the way. Even if they could protect her and him, they would be distracted with looking out for them.

Dean´s face darkened for the first time since she knew him. Something that had never happened. His eyes twinkled dangerously and his nostrils flared angrily. " What are you saying? You don´t want to be with us any longer? Now that you´re not pregnant anymore you want to leave us?".

Maria was a little scared of him. She wasn´t used to this darker side of him, something she had seen the last time when Michael went all Hail King Rath on her. But she was sure that it would be the right thing. She didn´t want to endanger anyone. " It´s for the best for all of us. Besides I can´t live with a baby on the road".

" Yes you can. My father did the same with us. Sam was no more than almost a year old when he packed our things and we went hunting for this demon killing our mother. We grew up on the road and we didn´t get so half bad", if she thought they would just let her leave without a fight, she was on the wrong track. No, she was part of the team and they already started to love this little man. They would do everything to keep both with them.

Maria glanced at Sam to see his reaction to the little speech his brother had given just now. Unfortunately he was looking the exact same way as Dean, determined to fight her on this decision until she would change her mind. " But don´t you think it´s a little too dangerous for you to keep an eye on me and Alex?".

Sam shook his head. He was so used to have her around that he didn´t want to miss her. She was the only reason that the brothers hadn´t killed each other yet. And she was part of their family, which they hadn´t much of it. " No. We can manage you both. Besides you´re not exactly damsel in distress material. You´re stronger than us".

" And that´s the end of this discussion. You stay with us", Dean jumped to his feet to get fresh air outside. He needed a clear head to think about the reason for his out of character outburst. Rubbing his face he walked out of the room.

Maria was slightly surprised about his quick retreat. Turning to Sam she saw the same expression mirrored in his face. Confused he shrugged his shoulders while she jumped out of the bed, still careful not to strain herself too much now. " Keep an eye on Alex. I´ll be outside, trying to find out what bug crawled up your brother´s butt".

Sam watched her walking out of the room without waiting for his answer. Before he knew it she was gone from his sight and he was alone with his nephew. Looking at him, he shook his head. " The both of them will either hook up or kill each other one day. But don´t worry you will still have me".

Meanwhile Maria found Dean standing at a window, his face leaning against the cool glass. His stance was not like his usual come here big boy, I´ll make sushi outta you attitude. Something was wrong. Carefully she stepped behind him. " What is going on? Why are you so adamant to keep me with you?".

" I think it´s safer for you, that´s why", Dean replied without even turning around, fearing that she could see the truth in his eyes. The truth hitting him like a ton of bricks just moments ago. Actually it had been the night before when he watched her sleeping so peacefully, but he had pushed it immediately aside. But now he couldn´t ignore it. He was in love with her and he wanted to keep her within his sight to protect her and Alex.

Maria didn´t believe that bullshit he was sprouting. It was more dangerous for her to stay with them and they both knew that. Something else was happening and she either had missed it or had been to blind to see it. " Wrong answer. Try it again".

Dean chuckled slightly, hating her in that moment for her ability to notice a lie. He was usually a good liar, just not to her. She saw right through him, no matter what he did. Sometimes he thought she knew him better than he himself. Sighing he turned around to look at her. " I just want to have the people I care about close to me. Everyone is always leaving me and I´m so sick of it. I just want to be sure that you, Alex and Sam are with me".

" I can understand that, I really do. I know that feeling myself, more than I actually want", Maria had listened to many conversation he had with his brother and sometimes she had felt this connection with him. He was in some things so much like her that it was scary. He had the same fear of getting left behind as her. They both grew up with one parent who was always so busy and didn´t have time for their children, thrusting the responsibility on their small shoulders. And they had needed to grow up too soon, seeing things that was taking away their innocence.

Dean gave in his urge and embraced her. He knew from the many talks they had that she hadn´t been having the greatest life, but she had loved it. Maybe it was the support of her best friends and some kinda father figure in the form of Jeff Parker. " We won´t let you down. I promise. You will always have us. And we will always have you with us. Maybe we need protection from you one day?".

Maria was always in awe when he showed so much affection. He wasn´t someone sharing his feelings with others. But sometimes he let out a little peek from his emotion shine through his tough exterior. Just like her spaceboy. " Funny. Jerk".

" Bitch".

Maria was just in the process to slap him, even though she knew that they were just kidding, when she saw someone coming with quick steps towards them. Alarmed she recognized him as Ben and he seemed to be in a hurry. Fearing the worst she braced herself for the confrontation. Immediately she pushed herself away from Dean. " I think we´ve got trouble".

Dean turned his head and saw the Deputy walking in their direction, his face unreadable. But usually it wasn´t something good when the police was involved. Stepping slightly in front of Maria to protect her, he waited for the other man to come to a halt. " Hi. I didn´t know we would meet so soon again or I would have brought flowers".

" Shut your mouth, human. I´m not here for you", Ben stared behind the young man at the girl hiding behind the larger body. His glance was fearful and his eyes were black, a sign that whoever was standing in front of him, wasn´t human.

Maria stepped around Dean to take a closer look. Despite the rather scary appearance, she didn´t feel anything threatening coming from this man. It was strangly familiar to her. Like she would meet an old friend. " Who are you and what do you want?".

The creature in Ben smiled at her, an odd expression to the one he had been wearing seconds before. If not for the haunted expression in his eyes, nobody would notice that anything was wrong with the man. " We´ve meet already. In Roswell inside of the UFO-Center".

" Larek?", Maria wasn´t so sure if she should be glad that he was here or afraid. Why would he would go such a distance to see her if not for some bad news? Her first thought was they wanted to take Alex away from her. But she knew that they wouldn´t even take one step before she would kill them. Not to mention the reaction Dean and Sam would have.

Larek was relieved that she still knew his name, it would make everything a little easier for him. It had been already quite an act to get a nice healthy body for him, some guy who was near Maria and knew her location. Thankfully he had good help from one of his friends up there or he would still be looking. " Yeah. Glad you remember me. But that´s besides the point. This is not a friendly visit. You have to leave immediately".

Maria felt Dean moving closer at her back and grasping her hand, already thinking the same as her. She was on the brink to freak out nice and long. She just hoped that it was nothing alien, because as much as she wanted she couldn´t use her powers pretty good yet. " What is going on? Is it the FBI".

" Yeah I wish. Unfortunately it´s not. Khivar knows about Rath´s child and is after the little one", Larek wondered how the other man got the information so fast, but that wasn´t important at the moment anyway. The important thing was to get her and her child out of harms way before something would happen.

Maria could really feel the color leaving her face for a moment. Her heart stopped beating and the air was knocked out of her lungs. She had thought that she knew what fear was. But obviously it wasn´t like that. " Why? I mean what about Max´s son. He´s the next generation of the king, not my son".

Larek wished he would have the time to explain everything detailed to her. But they didn´t have that luxury right now. He already spent too much time finding a convenient host for him and getting him at this place. " Zan was human. He and Tess were killed as soon as Khivar found that out. He needs the baby with the most power and that is your son. The reason why I´m here. We can´t let that happen. So I suggest getting the hell out of this town and try to disappear for a while".

" How can we be sure to trust you?", Dean didn´t believe most people crossing his path. Except it´s someone needing his help or women or children. But other than that he thought everyone was a possible threat to him and his family, which now included Maria and Alex.

Maria surprised him when she turned to him. In her eyes was so much faith that it lasted for the two of them. Squeezing his hand she smiled at him to reassure him that everything was alright. " He´s on our side. Even though I´m used to his other appearance".

At that Larek started to smile and it looked really scary. " By the way, Brody is really heartbroken about your death. He misses you terribly".

" Great. Can´t you leave him alone now. We´re not longer in Roswell anymore so you can look for someone different", Maria glared at him. Poor Brody, still the puppet of the martians. Maybe she should rethink her opinion about the aliens quickly. They were manipulative and cruel.

Dean finally interefered, having no clue to what was going on right now. But he knew that some bad dude was after Maria and her son, which didn´t sound so funny for him. " I hate to break up this get together. But if Maria´s in danger we should go".

Larek realized that the other man was right and he was relieved to know that the commanders mate and his son were in good hands. As much as he could feel from this guy he wasn´t a threat and he was caring about Maria deeply. " Yeah. You are right. Go through the back. I will distract everyone else. Be careful".

" Thank you", Maria placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it. Even though she never met him in person she liked him. With a smile she turned around to get her son. A while later Dean followed after her.

**Hours later**

The podsquad finally arrived at the hospital after a long drive and problems on the way. It had been a hell of a drive to this point. Like it hadn´t been bad enough that they had to sleep in a motel that was infested with cockroaches as big as rats, but than Michael had gone missing and they hadn´t known where he was. A long search later they finally found him lying unconscious behind some bar. After they made sure he was just out cold and not dead, they decided to bring him inside and wait for him to come around again before continueing their way. It had been almost noon when Michael opened his eyes, a little freaked for a moment and looking around wildly. Everyone had been a little scared about his condition. But after a while he calmed down and told them what happened and that they should go, even though Max was worried about his friend and would have rather stayed for another day. Thankfully the freeway had been opened again and nothing was standing between them. And now Kyle, Michael and Max were standing in the middle of a hospital in Iowa, trying to find their missing member. Michael was frantic, talking about finding her before something bad would happen. Kyle tried to calm him down, of course without success while Max was having a nice conversation with the lady at the reception.

" Would you finally stop.! You´re driving me crazy! Just sit down and do nothing", Kyle was finally at the end of his patience. Okay he didn´t know how the alien felt at the moment, never been in that position himself, but he had enough from the whining.

Michael glared at his friend and was close to choke him. But before he could even lift his hand Max came back to them, just in time to interfere. It wasn´t helpful for them to draw too much attention the themself right now. " hey guys. I have good news and bad news. Which one do you wanna hear first?".

Kyle stepped closer to Max, being afraid to get killed from the growling alien besides him. Hey it wasn´t like he said something wrong. He could have a bad day, too. " Start with the good news".

" This doctor Wylie is really working here. And he brought children in this world yesterday", Max thought how he could phrase the bad news so that it wasn´t that bad anymore. Unfortunately there wasn´t such a thing as gentle with bad news. " The downside, four Marias were under them. A Maria Delfino, a Maria Hetfield, a Maria Winchester and a Maria Farrell".

Michael´s eyes immediately had the sparkle back. His mood seemed to brighten drastically within seconds. " Hetfield. This is her".

Max and Kyle both turned to him with the same confused expression, slightly fearing that their friend could finally have lost his mind. At least the part that was still there, which wasn´t much to begin with.

" Hetfield. James Hetfield is the singer from Metallica, my favourite band in the whole wide world. She remembered it and wanted to give me a clue, something I would recognize", Michael was so sure about his statement that he ignored the glances from his friends, who were probably thinking that he went loco. But he didn´t care about them, they didn´t know Maria like he did.

Kyle raised an eyebrow at the obviously crazy alien. Okay part of it sounded logically, but that was just a small part. " Yeah the same could apply to the others names as well. I mean I know she likes Colin Farrell and she loved this guy from Desperate Houswives Mike Delfino"

Max nodded in agreement. He knew those facts, too. He hated to be the one destroying his friends happiness. But it had to be done this time, they couldn´t just barge into some room and in the end it wasn´t even the Maria they were searching for. " How about everyone of us takes one of this Maria´s and we´ll meet at the reception in five minutes? If nobody has found her by then we will look together for the fourth on the list".

" I´m in. I´ll take this Hetfield, because I know I´m right", Michael leant against the window, just waiting for the other two to pick the one they would visit when a flash hit him really hard. Cringing from the intensity of the pictures, he had to hold onto something before he crashed on the ground. After a few seconds he breathed easier, feeling the pain leaving his body. Rubbing his forehead he saw the concerned expression of his friends.

Max knew what just happened, having seen that already. Steading his friend he tried to find something for the other man to sit in. Seeing chairs lining at the wall near them, he steered them both there and sat Michael on one of them. Kneeling in front of his friend he looked at his face. " What did you see?".

Michael closed his eyes for a moment to remember everything. He was pretty shaken up and that had never happened before. Sorting through the pictures he finally could make sense of what he had witnessed. " Larek was here. And I think Maria, but she was looking different, she had black curly hair and brown eyes. And some guy was with her, someone I don´t know".

" What did Larek want from her?", Max wondered what brought the other alien to earth and especially to Maria? It was making no sense right now. Why did he take the risk of killing some innocent to talk to Maria?

Michael glanced up, turning his head in all direction to be sure that they were alone. Realizing that no one was near them or seemed to be slightly interested in their conversation he stared at his friend. " He warned her to get away from here. Khivar is after my son".

Max lost his color at that, knowing that if their enemy was after someting he would get it. Worriedly he glanced at Kyle, seeing the fear clearly in his eyes, too. They had to do something quickly. They couldn´t let Maria or her son in the hand of this bastard. " Then we have to find out which Maria is gone and try to locate her through the name. If Khivar is after her we don´t have too much time".

" Then why are we still standing around like old washerwomen? Get moving", Kyle immediately walked in the direction of the room he saw on the piece of paper. They had probably wasted too much time already and he wanted to have Maria where she belonged. Here with her family.

Michael was the next to disappear, almost running down the long corridor. His head was so full of the images he saw and this other boy besides Maria worried him. He had seen that look in his eyes, something he had been seeing everyday when he looked into the mirror. But hopefully they would find her soon and she was with him again. Although they couldn´t be sure that if it would even work when they knew the name she used right now. She could be changing him everyday or she wouldn´t risk leaving a trail behind. But it was the best they could do at the moment and he would grasp every idea, no matter how silly it seemed.

Max watched after his best friend sadly. He knew how it felt to lose a child and not be able to do something about it. He still thought they should have searched harder for a chance to go back. It was something that was still nagging at him when he was alone. He didn´t say anything to Liz, because she was really sensitive with this topic. But from time to time he wondered if he did the right thing. Shaking his head he walked into the other direction. They had a mission.

Ten minutes later all three men met at the reception with the same crestfallen expression on their faces. Nobody had been having luck, seeing as the women had been there. But luckily that meant they had a winner.

" Okay, we know now she used the name Winchester", which was as weird as the other names. Max wasn´t so sure of his plan any longer. He had thought about it and wondered if he hadn´t been to optimistic. They couldn´t exactly find her with a name that was legally not even her real name. Besides they didn´t even know which direction she went or where she wanted to go.

Kyle had the same thought running through his head. Maybe if Alex would have been with them, they would have a chance. But not one of them had experience with hacking into a system and get information out of it. And it wasn´t so easy like googling a name, like Liz had done it. " And what now? I don´t think she´s so stupid to leave a trail. Not even for us".

Michael was desperate, he would do everything if it would mean to find out where Maria and his son were. He was frantic and close to panic. The thought they could be in danger and he was so far apart from them was making him sick. He couldn´t just give up because it seemed to be pointless. " We have to try, even if doesn´t make a difference. I can´t just do nothing while the people I love are probably in danger".

" Let´s go back to the girls. They´re surely worried why we´re not with them already", Max was sure that Liz would have more ideas what they could do at the moment. She was better at those things anyway. Besides he didn´t want her alone with his sister too long. If Khivar was here he could change his plans and go after him instead, which meant his wife was in danger, too.

Michael glared at his friend, hating him right now. The girls were the least of his problems, he just wanted to find his son and Maria. Everything else would take care of itself. But until then he needed to be sure that they were out of harms way. And if he had to look day and night for them. " Why I´m not surprised that you would say that? But this time I won´t do what you want me to do, alright! I´m gonna search for my family till I find them".

Max noticed the window glass vibrating slightly and the lightbulbs started to flicker, although they weren´t even on. Even the nurses realized something was going wrong, they slapped on their monitors, obviously having trouble with the computers. Gripping his friends shoulder he tried to calm him down. " I want to find them, too. Believe me. Maria was...I mean is my friend and I would do everything to get her back with us. But we can´t just drive aimlessly around the country to look for her. We need a plan".

" Oh and where had been this plan when you jeopardized the freedom of Liz, because you thought your son was in trouble? Or saved her life in front of all the people in the Crashdown? Or is this just a rule for everyone else just not you?", Michael had been so sure to have the back of his almost brother this time, seeing as they both were in the same position. Well, not anymore judging after the flash. But he couldn´t say Max that his son was dead, it would kill him.

Max was so sick of this argument everytime they got into a fight. He couldn´t hear it any longer. He was fed up with justifying himself over and over again for things he did in the past. He would do everything for the people he loved and he wouldn´t change anything if he had the chance again. Looking in Michael´s eyes he saw the same look of desperation there, the fear and the pain, a feeling he was all too familiar with when he felt that his son needed him or when he thought he had lost Liz forever. " I won´t apologize for the things I´ve done. But we will do everything possible to find Maria and your son. I swear. You just have to trust me on this. But without plan we won´t get far or do you wanna waste time by wandering around?".

Michael hated him more at that, because everything he said was true. Damn, he hated it when he was wrong in something. But finally they were on the same page and he finally listened, even though he rarely did that. Noticing his body losing the tension, he saw a man in uniform standing behind Max, staring at him. For a minute he feared that they were doomed. But then he remembered the flash and he knew that it was the guy with Larek in him. Without paying attention to his friends he went to the man.

Max exchanged a worried glance with Kyle, who seemed to be as stunned about the abrupt departure of their friend as him. But after seeing what he was in on the brink to do, they immediately got in gear and followed him. They came just in time to see Michael pushing the deputy on the wall and getting in his face.

" Where is she?".

For a moment it looked like the man didn´t have the slightest clue what happened and why he got attacked from someone he didn´t know. But seconds later a smile appeared on the strangers face. " I knew you would be coming. Actually I´m a little surprised that you weren´t here sooner".

Michael wasn´t in the mood to play games at this particular moment and he needed exactly three seconds to put his ellbow at the throat of the other man and threaten to crush his windpipe. His eyes got this crazy look he had the last time he had the crest of the king. " Where is she? And believe me I won´t ask again".

" I gave her the advice to get the hell out of here before Khivar would locate her. She went and I haven´t the slightest clue where she might have gone. She and her two protector made a rather hasty retreat, there wasn´t time to ask about their next destination", Larek finally remembered again why Rath had been so feared on Antar. Boy no wonder everyone pissed their pants when he had them in a nice iron grip. His intentions were very clear and he wasn´t probably someone taking prisoner. He was someone more like shoot first, ask questions later. And now he had even a pretty damn good reason for reacting that way. His enemy was threatening his family.

Michael eased his hold a bit, but just a bit. Didn´t want to make his opponent too comfortable. Even if he knew that Larek was on their side, he was rather safe than sorry, especially when it came to Maria and his son. " I hope for you that you are telling me the truth or I will hunt your ass down and kill you".

Max feeling the eyes of the people in the hospital on their backs he motioned to Kyle to do something before someone would call the police or worse the FBI because they got identified. The last thing they needed right now was too much attention. Seeing that the other boy was taking care of the first problem, he tried to solve the other. " Michael would you stop. He can´t tell you anything if you kill him", turning his glance to the older man, he made an attempt to ease the situation a little. " I´m sorry about him, but he´s scared for his family. We just want both of them back with us. Unfortunately we don´t even know where we have to look. So if you know something that could help us, we would be very grateful".

" I would help you if I could, you know that. But I really don´t know which direction they took. But I can tell you the motel they had been staying. Maybe someone there can help you", Larek was relieved when the arm was pulled back and he could finally breath normally again. Snatching a piece of paper and a pen from the pocket of his jacket, he scribbled the adress and the name on it. Giving it to Max, because he didn´t trust Michael to attack him once more, he knew that he had to go away, too. The body he was in was getting weaker and he didn´t want to kill this human host. " I´ve got to go. But I´ll try to stay in contact with you".

Michael watched Larek walking towards the exit and he wondered if they did the right thing about trusting him. Turning his attention back to his best friend he was a little confused when he saw the strange expressions on the other boys face. " What?".

Max showed him the piece of paper and the name of the motel. " She had been at the motel we are staying right now. It was even the same room number".

" You´ve gotta be kidding me!", Michael ripped the paper out of his friends hand and looked at it. Close to bang his head at something heavy, because they had been so fing close, he rubbed his face. If this guy hadn´t knocked him out, which he was still in the dark about why it happened, they could have been here hours ago and he could hold his son and Maria in his arms right now.

Kyle, finally finished with calming the people, joined them. Curiously he eyed the thing everyone was staring at. Obviously he had missed something, because to him it looked like just a piece of paper. " What are we looking at?".

Max held the new information under the other boys nose and after seeing the same reaction to the news, was exactly in the same mood as Michael. " Now we go back, get the girls and ask the clerk behind the counter if he knows something".

" Sounds like a plan", Michael didn´t waste more time and marched in the direction of the exit, not even looking if his friends were following him. He didn´t care about it anyway. He was on a mission, which was called getting his family at his side again.

Max grasped Kyle´s arm, who was flirting with one of the nurses and dragged him away. They both didn´t have time for romances or some quick nooner. Trying to catch up to their friend, Max was nagging a question. " How did you explain Michael´s outburst?".

Kyle smirked while winking at all those hot girls smiling at him. If he wouldn´t be so modest he would brag about his intelligence and how he good he was in a stressful situation. " I told them that the guy was sleeping with my friends wife. Shut them all up immediately".

" That was good. Could have been coming from me", Max witnessed the roll of the other mans eyes and without thinking about it, slapped the back of his head with his hand. After the small cry, both hurried up before Michael would drive off without them.

**At the motel**

As soon as the three men stepped into their room, they got already jumped from Liz. She was so excited and happy that except for Max of course nobody understood her. It was strange, because the girl wasn´t usually someone that had experience in babbling, that had been more Maria´s thing. But nontheless she was doing it, although nobody knew what she was talking about. It seemed to be some different language to them. That was until Max stormed towards the bathroom and knocked on the door loudly.

" Isabel?".

Seconds later the door opened and the tall female alien came out, looking like herself again. There was still a hint of sadness lingering in her eyes, but she was back with them and that was the only thing that mattered. " Hey", seeing the other two boys standing shocked a little further away she added. " Hey guys".

Max immediately wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly at his body. After a while the Michael and Kyle made the same, clearly happy to see her under the living again. Her mental absence had hit them harder than they had thought and it was nice to have her back with them.

" So now what was that about some vision you got?", Max hadn´t understood everything his wife had told him. Something about Maria, a black car, two boys and a road sign. But that had been all.

Isabel was touched about the warm welcome, not sure if she should start to cry or just enjoy it. Deciding for the latter, she didn´t wait any longer to tell everyone the good news. " Maria is heading towards Chicago with a black car and two good looking men", hearing the low growl coming from Michael she tried to retract her last statement. " well okay maybe not that good looking".

Max wondered for a moment how she knew that. The last time he had seen her she was like a zombie sitting around and now she was back to her old self, telling them something about a vision, although she didn´t have that power. That was more Liz´s thing. " How do you know that?".

" Does it matter?", Michael interfered before it got out of hand and he didn´t care how or why they knew that. It only matter to him that they knew it. Not paying attention to his friends he started collecting all their things to pack them in their cars. He had no patience any longer. He needed to save his family and if he had to move the world in order to do that.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Maria sat on the bed in another motel room, she didn´t even know how many she had been in already. But she was sure that she would need more than her two hands to count it. Looking at the ever changing wallpaper around her, this time the walls were painted in a nice creme color, she had the urge to flee. Two months she was on the run from Khivar and two month she was a mother, something that was harder than she imagined. Especially with a baby that had supernatural powers and could blow you up with a sneezer. Poor Sam, he was still waiting for his eyebrows to grow back. She had offered to help, but he was a little scared of her. Dean on the other hand used almost every opportunity to spend time with Alex. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night and both were sitting on the couch in front of the tv. Most of the time Dean was telling Alex all about the right boob size and how you can see they´re fake or real. Some of the times she wondered what would her son become when he got older and lived the life like he did now. Would he become a hunter like Dean, would he split with them and go to college like Sam or would he find a woman and live the life she never had? But then she remembered his outter world nature and was sure that he would never be able to live a normal life, no matter how much he was loved or supported. A few times she caught herself questioning if she did the right decision by bringing this child into this world, even though she couldn´t stand the pain of the thought. What could she offer him? He would always be an outsider, having secrets from people he would grow to love and being afraid to reveal too much from himself. What kind of life would that be? Thankfully most of the time Alex made something so cute that she forgot the thought and decided to cross that bridge when the time would come, which wasn´t today. Besides she wasn´t alone and there were still people out there who were like him, people who would love him just like she and the two Winchesters did. Speaking of them, she remembered that they acted a little strange since they knew their new case. They would be on the way to Lawrence in Kansas soon, she just had to wait on the boys to stow everything into the car. But something told her that this wasn´t just an ordinary job for them this time. Unfortunately they were very silent about the topic when she asked them.

" Hey. Are you both ready to go? We´re finished with the car", Sam popped his head through the gap in the door. He was smiling like always. But this time it didn´t reach his eyes like usual.

Maria had the distinct feeling that their new case would be more different than she was used to. Usually they checked the place, got information about anything happening there and blew the ghost, demon or whatever it was back in hell where it belonged. But not this time. They didn´t even know if there was something in the first place. Dean said that Sam had been having a nightmare about a house in Lawerence and they would check it out, just to be sure. However both boys were quiet, too quiet for her. " Yeah. Just let me get my jacket".

Sam waited until she and Alex disappeared from the room before he dropped his mask. For the first time since he and his brother were on this road trip from hell, he was really worried about finding something in the house they would visit in Kansas. A worry he was sharing with Dean, who of course wouldn´t show it to the outside world. But he knew his brother and he was feeling the same fear. " Hurry up or we´re stranded here. You know Dean has no patience in this things".

" Don´t rush me. I´m ready", Maria stormed towards him with Alex tightly secured in her arms and her jacket protectively hiding him. She thought that if nobody would see her son, nobody would target him. Even though she knew that it wouldn´t apply to some evil alien having the ability to sense people or other aliens with his powers. But she just wanted to avoid the confrontation with the man who had killed her friends in their past lifes as long as possible.

Sam saw the strained expression on her face and knew that she was walking on a tight edge. Unfortunately he had noticed it weeks ago. Sometimes he wished she would let them help her with this alien retard she was so afraid of. But she had told them to stay out of it. " Give me the little man. You look like you can barely hold your own weight".

Maria skillful and quickly bypassed him and marched straight towards the car, where Dean was already waiting for them. Hastily she threw the door open and jumped inside, hoping to be far away from this place. She hoped that Khivar couldn´t find her when she moved from town to town. But she wouldn´t bet on it.

" Hey. What´s wrong with you?", Sam got in the passenger seat and immediately turned around to Maria, who was in the process to strap Alex in his baby carrier and fastened the seatbelt over it, not once looking at him.

Dean, feeling kinda out of the loop, faced his brother with a confused expression. He was trying to find the reason for the tension in the car. Well maybe Sam would finally get out of Maria why she was so bitchy the last few weeks, outside from the fear for her son and mothership. " Dude, what did I miss?".

Sam whirled around in his seat and stared straight ahead, sick of getting treated like a punching bag. He didn´t know what her deal was, but one day he would explode or do something drastically. " Hell if I know. One minute she´s sane girl and the next she´s insano girl".

" Don´t you dare talk about me like I´m not there", Maria snapped angrily, pointing with her finger in his direction. She was so fed up with her companions thinking she needed protection from them.

Sam didn´t back down from her, although he knew that one wrong move could cost him a part of his body. But he was so sick of walking on eggshells around her. She was old enough to open her mouth to tell them what they did wrong or what was going on with her. " Then talk to us. Tell us what we did wrong and we can change it".

Maria rubbed her face, tired of being so angry at everyone and everything. The worst part was, she knew why she felt that way and who was behind it. She was pissed at herself and was taking it out on the wrong people. The situation was taking its toll on her. " I´m sorry for being a bitch. But I´ve got so much noise in my head and I think I´m about to lose my mind. I´m constantly worried that either the FBI or Khivar will take away Alex or kill him. I worry if I´m a good mother, if I do the right thing by risking him with this lifestyle or if I should have find a nice job and a nice apartement to raise him to a normal child. And to top of it all my powers are gone. How can I protect my child if I´m not able to defend myself?".

" First of all, you are a really good mother, considering the circumstances, your age and the fact that little Alex is not like any baby. Secondly I don´t want to hear ever saying again that you regret coming with us, because if you want it or not Alex will never be normal and I think it will be better for him not to stay at one place too long before someone found out he´s special. And thirdly you are more than able to defend yourself and the little one. Just don´t put too much pressure on yourself, okay. You will see, as soon as someone tries to hurt Alex you will notice what´s inside you. Besides you´re not alone. You still got us and we´ll be there at your side", Dean had to take a breath. He never had said so much at a single blow. Wow he had been having more to tell than he thought. Damn if he would have known that before he would have made a break in the middle.

Maria knew that she always could count on her two boys. But as much as she loved them, she knew that her situation was just temporary and someday she would leave, even though the thought was making her sad. She was so used to them that she couldn´t imagine a life without them in it anymore. " You´re babbling".

Dean smiled at her, for one minute forgetting that they just knew each other for a few months. It felt to him like he knew her all his life, they just lost sight of the other and met years later. It was strange, because he had never felt that with other girls before. " Yeah blame yourself for that. I picked that up from you".

" You did not. I´m not babbling", Maria glanced at her son when she heard him giggling besides her. Trying to be mad at the others she lost that battle when she saw the toothless smile directed at her. " Great. You find that funny. Weeks of screaming in my head and now you giggle like nothing had happened".

Sam was relieved that the storm was over and he was alive to tell the tale. He had watched his brother from the corner of his eyes the whole time and had noticed something strange. The look Dean had been giving Maria had been pretty obvious, a look that he would have never dreamed of seeing with his sibling. He reminded himself to ask his brother later about that when they were alone. Turning his attention back to the young mother, he was glad to know that she wasn´t really angry with them. " Are you feeling better?".

Maria could answer that question with an honest yes. It had been good to have finally voiced her concerns and now that they were out she found out that it wasn´t so bad anymore. Strange minutes ago she thought she would lose her mind and now she was the calmest she was since Alex´ birth. " Yeah. Thanks for pushing me, I really needed it".

" No problem. Now we finally know that you´re human like us", Dean joked, thankful to have her bearable self back, although her angry aura was kind of a turn on. But everything she did was pushing his buttons nowadays. He caught himself watching her more than once reading Harry Potter to Alex and using strange voices for every character and he was fascinated with the way she got into her roles. He hadn´t met such women in all the years he had been on the road, always under the impresson he wouldn´t find someone like his mother. And yet here he was, listening intently to something he had sworn to hate because it was a childs book. He wanted to hear more of it, wanted to know the end of the book.

Sam noticed the same look in his brothers eyes again and he hoped that they would find the time to talk alone from man to man. As much as he would like for Dean to finally find a woman for him, they had to talk about it first. Maria wasn´t just someone they would see one night and then they would go, she was part of their hunter troop. " Now let´s go. I don´t want to grow old here".

Maria was pretty much obvious to the glances of the brothers, being occupied with playing with Alex´ small fingers. She knew that the good mood wouldn´t last long, that their thoughts would probably go back to their new case. Unfortunately she was held on the dark about a few things and she would bother them until she knew the truth. But that could wait, for now. Watching her son getting sleepy as soon as they were driving, she pulled her novel out of her bag and continued reading. She was really getting into it and she was fascinated with Malcolm, the lord of dunroch. He was a master, pretty powerful with supernatural abilities and as much as she could read an animal in the sac. He was strong and had muscles at places that she didn´t even knew there could be muscles. She had to remind herself not to drool or make any indication that she was lusting after someone in a novel. But it was hard, because now that she wasn´t pregnant anymore, she felt some urges awakening in her and she didn´t have someone taking care of it. Well except for the quite sexual dreams she had about her companions, which she felt really bad about. Glancing up from her literature, she watched Dean in a heated discussion with his brother which music they would listen to. She could herself picture wriggling under him in extasy, pounding and moaning in unison. Shaking her head she tried to get rid of the mental image. That could never be and she didn´t want that. It was just her imagination and her hormones getting out of control. Putting her head back into the book, she concentrated on this master again.

**Two hours later**

Maria was opening her eyes and wondered when she had fallen asleep. She couldn´t remember feeling tired. Looking around she was surprised to find herself in the middle of a clearing with trees, grassland and a pretty blue sky above her. Sensing the wind on her skin she glanced down and was stunned to see that she was just wearing a small jeans skirt and a pink tank top with cowboy boots at her feets. Standing up and straightening her clothes, she searched the scenery for some kinda sign where she was. Walking a few steps she finally realized what happened.

" You´ve got to be kidding me. I´m dreaming about the book ".

Laughing loud she was a little relieved to know that she wasn´t so crazy like she thought she had gotten. Wow and she already thought she should stop eating this fattening things before going to bed. Hearing hooves trampling towards her, she knew what would go on and was curious how Malcolm would look like in her dream. Waiting for the small group of horsemen to come to a halt in front of her she had to swallow her first reaction. It wasn´t Malcolm from her book dismouting his horse. No it was Michael, her Michael.

He walked carefully in her direction, glancing at her like she was a scared animal. Maybe she looked that way or it was the wide eyes from the shock. " Lad? Are ya well?".

" No. I mean yes, yes. I´m fine", Maria was a little distracted from the scottish accent he had and the red kilt he was wearing with a white shirt, where something that looked like a black scarf drapped over it. The sight was so strange and at the same time pretty arousing. If she had known how sexy he would look in a man´s skirt, she would have brought him one when they had been still together.

Michael let his gaze wander over her sparely clad body and his eyes darkened when he drank the beautiful sight of her. She wasn´t from his time that much was obvious, seeing as she was almost naked. Winking another man to him, he kept his eyes clued to the tiny woman. " Royce will bring ya to me small castle".

Maria was close to faint. Not only was Michael in her dream, now even Dean had made it into her subconscious. Damn, she could already imagine some dirty things she could do with them. She wondered what they were wearing underneath their kilts and if the rumour was true that they were usually naked under it. " Oh god. I was bad and that´s my punishment", hiding her flushing face behind her hands, she hoped that she would wake up soon. She didn´t want to think about what would happen if she woke up and she had done something nasty with Dean. She wouldn´t be able to look at him in the same way again.

" Lad. You dinna look so good", Dean was stepping at her side, obviously having jumped down his horses back. He laid an arm around her and she could clearly feel his erection pressing at her hips.

Maria was really mortified and wished herself away. Pinching her arm she waited to wake up in the real world. Unfortunately nothing happened and she stayed where she was. Just that Michael was pushing his hard member at her other side. " Oh god. I swear I will never bitch about something. And I´m trying to be a better person and start eating vegetables again. But please get me out of here".

Just like the heaven would have heard her pleading, everything around her disappeared. The landscape, the men and the horses. Now it was just her and the darkness. Suddenly a cold breeze was waving at her and she shivered. Turning in all direction she tried to see something. Lifting her hand she slid her thumbnail along her forefinger to make light. She had seen Michael doing it and she hoped that she could do it to. And as a matter of fact she really managed a fire. It wasn´t that big and just barely illuminated the area around her, but it was still enough for her to make out that someone was there with her.

" Who are you and what are you doing in my dream?".

The shadow moved towards her and for a moment seemed to disappear from her sight. Like it wanted to go now that it had been busted. Unfortunately it did not and seconds later light was flooding everything. " You know me and you even know why I´m with you".

Maria´s eyes slowly adapted to the change of lightning and could finally see something again. Shocked she realized that she was in some kinda castle. It was cold and just barely furnished, emitting a sense of fear and loneliness. It wasn´t a place she wanted to live ever. Turning her attention behind her, she came face to face with a quite beautiful man. He had black hair and appearingly grey eyes and was nicely built. At least as much as she could see through the kilt and the wide shirt he was wearing. " I´m sorry, but I don´t know you. But if I had to guess, I would say your name is Khivar and you´re here to scare me".

" Good guess. You´re not so dumb like I hoped you would be. But now I finally know why the commander is so attracted to you. He was never one for mindless dolls", Khivar circled her, eyeing her assets from all sides and comparing her to Vilandra. They both were like night and day and yet the same. " But he had exquisit taste, which I see hasn´t changed".

Maria felt uncomfortable with him watching her so thoroughly considering the clothes she was wearing. Part of her felt disgusted and wanted to wake up, but the other part felt hate and couldn´t wait to kick his ass. " Are you just here to ogle me? If yes, take a picture. It will last longer".

Khivar gave a noise that sounded distinctly like laughter, just more creepy. He liked her spunk and wondered how long it would take to break her spirit. Noticing the fire in her eyes, he was sure that she would be good competition for him, especially when he threatened her son. " I like you and if we would have met under different circumstances I would have even hit on you. Unfortunately you are in the way between me and my throne and quite frankly I don´t like it".

" Can you do me a favour and stop talking? I have a very low spew level and you´re very close to my limit already", Maria was shaking like a leaf inside, but she was glad that her pride wouldn´t let her show it to the outside. Besides he was just trying to intimidate her and she wouldn´t let on that she was scared of him.

Khivar smiled at her, an expression that didn´t even come close to match his threatening aura. Suddenly a knife appeared in his hand and before she realized what was happening he had already rammed it into her stomach and was gone.

**Inside the car**

Dean was dreading to get back where it all started. He wondered how it would be to see his old house where his mother died and his father started to change. It was strange to think that they would visit their home, something he had sworn he would never do. But Sam was so sure about his nightmare that he couldn´t ignore it. Thinking about that he worried about his brother and his abilities he claimed he had. It wasn´t normal to have visions, at least not for a human being. He had heard about people with mental powers, but he had never been affected from it. Glancing at the side he watched Sam opening his eyes after an hour of sleep.

" Sleep well?".

Sam tried to shake the webs of disorientation from his still fuzzy mind while he stretched his numb limbs, almost hitting his brother with his hand. Yawning loudly he wondered how long he had been asleep. " Yeah. Where are we?".

Dean pointed straight ahead, exactly towards the sign that said " Lawrence ". " We´re almost there".

" Are you nervous?", Sam was it, because he couldn´t remember the time in that house. He had been too young at that point. Just the things his father told him about it and sometimes even from his brother. But all in all, he didn´t know anything about it.

Dean sighed, debatting between being honest or being himself. He didn´t know what he was feeling right now, it was all so mixed up that he couldn´t exactly tell a difference. " A little".

Sam was just in the process to ask another question, when he heard the moaning in the backseat. Turning around he saw Maria sleeping slightly troubled, her head was rolling from side to side and her eyes were moving under her lids. Knowing the signs of a nightmare he stretched his arm out to wake her. But before he could touch her, she was emitting such a cry that shocked both men in the car. Her body was wincing and she put her hand protectively over her belly. Seconds later blood was flowing down her fingers and out of her mouth, but her eyes stayed closed. " Dean stop the car! Somethings wrong!".

" Oh shit", Dean was thankful for the quiet street and instantly parked the impala at the margin. Without thinking he threw the door open and jumped out while his brother did the same on the other side.

Sam´s first instinct was to get Alex out, which he did immediately. The small boy was awake and staring at him with confusion. Securing the tiny creature in his arms he tried to distract himself with taking care of him.

Dean meanwhile was sitting besides Maria and was pressing his hands on the bleeding wound in her belly. But no matter how much pressure he put on the injury, the blood kept coming and coming. " Don´t you dare die on my now! Don´t you dare die! Open your fing eyes dammit!".

With a shock that seemed to go through her torso she flew forward and opened her eyes, breathing deeply in. Her gaze was panicky darting around the small space until she saw Dean besides her, a strange expression on his face. " Oh my god. He stabbed me. I´m dying".

" No, no, no. I won´t let you die", Dean tried to push her against the backseat again to look after the wound. Surprised he noticed the blood from his hands had disapeared as well as the blood from her hands. " What the f...".

Maria glanced down at her belly where she expected to see a red stain on her clothes. But there was nothing, not even a trace of blood. Eyeing her hands and detecting they were clean she rubbed her face. It had been a dream, just a damn nightmare. " Holy shit. That had been a dream, hu?".

Dean was sure that it wasn´t some hallucination, because his brother had seen the same thing, in fact he had been the one noticing it at first. Shaking his head, he wondered if the months on the street was making him go crazy or if it was time to lay off the heavy food. " What just happened? One minute you´re almost bleeding to death besides me and now everything is just gone! Is it just me or do you think something is seriously wrong, too?".

" I´m not so sure", Maria lifted her sweatshirt and bent her head that she could see her belly. Touching the spot where she had felt the knife going in, she was stunned to feel nothing but her skin. No scratch, no open wound and not even something wet. There was just her flawless flesh. " I felt pain, unbearable pain. And then I heard your voice. It was strange".

Dean breathed evenly, trying to get his tight nerves to calm down again. Man, that had been the worst minutes of his life, not even counting the time when he had dragged his little brother out of their house before it went up in flames. " Don´t do that to me again or I swear I will be be very pissed at you", before he knew what he was doing he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Partly because he was relieved and partly because he wanted to be sure that everything was good.

Maria was slightly surprised about the openly showing of his emotions, but she enjoyed it. It had been a long time that someone was caring about her so much. Breathing in his scent, she felt herself coming down from the shock. " I promise I will never do that again".

" I sure hope so. Think about my poor weak heart. I´m not the youngest fish in the ocean anymore", Dean cupped her face in his hands, which were still a little shaking and stared in her eyes. For a moment he thought about kissing her, it would be the right time.Unfortunately his brother choose this moment to knock at the window. The spell was broken and both jumped apart startled.

Maria was the first to react. She opened the door and got out instantly taking her son away from Sam, who seemed to be as relieved as his brother that she was alive. " Hey. Sorry for scaring you", after she received a smile from him she turned her attention to Alex. " Hey baby. Did Mommy scare you?", which her son answered with a happy gurgle.

Sam faced his brother, who was looking like he would lose his food every second and walked towards him. His sibling would take it really hard if their companion would get hurt or killed. Who would have thought? " Are you okay? You look like a ghost".

" You shouldn´t ask me that. I wasn´t the one almost bleeding all over my interior", Dean kept Maria and Alex in his sight, in case something strange like that would happen again. Wiping across his mouth he fought the urge to throw up. He didn´t know how painful it could be to watch someone you love almost dying. He still couldn´t stop the shaking in his body.

Sam followed his glance, worrying about the ease Maria had thrown off her near death experience. She was talking to Alex like nothing had happened. But he when he looked closer he saw the smile was forced and didn´t even reach her eyes. " For a moment I felt like I was in this horror movie Nightmare on Elmstreet. You know the movie where those kids get killed from this Freddy guy in their dreams. I thought we would lose her to something we can´t even hunt down"

Dean didn´t voice it out loud, but he had been having the same thought running around in his head. Just that he would have found a way to kill that bastard if he would have laid a hand on her. " Dude, I think we´re watching too much tv".

" What are you talking about?", Maria felt better after the fresh air had cleared her mind a little. Not to mention the fact that her son was with her, unharmed and obviously hadn´t realized what had been going on a few minutes earlier.

Sam wondered if she was putting up a front for the sake of Alex or if she was trying to convince herself that it was nothing. Or she could even do it to ease their worries, which was highly unlikely after what they witnessed. " We´re just slightly surprised about the casualness you´re showing".

Maria shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal. Looking at both brothers she saw the concern shining in their eyes. " It was just something to scare me, but not to kill me. If I act scared Khivar has won and I won´t give him the satisfaction of seeing me afraid of the dark"

" He can go into dreams? Can every alien do that?", Dean hoped not. He didn´t want someone meddling in the only safe place he still owned for himself. Besides some things were just private and he didn´t want someone seeing it.

Maria thought about the only aliens she had been having contact with. Remembering the dream sessions with Michael when they were apart, she knew that aliens had the ability, but just with people they´re close to. Actually just Isabel possessed the power of dreamwalking. " Usually they can´t. But if they have a connection with someone they can share a dream. But it has to be really intimate if you know what I mean".

Dean asked himself if she was speaking from experience. But seeing as she had a child with an alien, he knew that it was probably like that. To get pregnant you have to intimate with your mate. " How intimate are you talking about?".

" Nice to see that the shock has worn off", rolling her eyes Maria put Alex back in his seat. Sadly she was so used to his macho talk that it didn´t bother her anymore. Looking at her son, she was stunned to see that after the excitement of the last minutes he was back to sleep again. Kissing his head tenderly she turned around to face the brothers. " Okay are we setting up camp here or are we continue driving?".

Sam, who had forgotten in all this turmoil that they had a purpose for coming to Lawrence, immediately remembered the nightmare about the woman at the window. " Right. Let´s go".

Dean waited until his brother and Maria were back in the car before rubbing his face with both hands. Thankful his hands were calm again and not shaking like crazy. He hoped that something like that would not happen again so soon or he really would get a heartattack. Making sure that his worry wasn´t showing on his face, he got in the car and took off.

" So now that the excitement is over, I want some answers from you. Something in the direction of why I have the feeling you´re keeping secrets from me? Or why you´re both acting so strange since knowing that we would go to Kansas?", Maria wouldn´t budge from the topic again like she had done before. She would get her answer, one way or another and if she had to force it out of them.

Both brothers exchanged a resigned glance with each other. Then Sam started to tell her about the nightmare he had been having about a house, where a woman was in danger. She was at the window and hammering against the glass pane in panic. At first he had thought it was just a bad dream, but the tree besides the house had stuck to him and he drew it on his notepad. After staring at it for a while he finally realized where he had seen the tree before and he pulled an old photo from his father out of the journal, where the whole Winchester family was on it. At this point he knew that it wasn´t just his imagination playing tricks on him. The house was real, it was their old home where their mother went up in flames. It didn´t burn completely down to the ground and it had been built again. Now there seemed to be new people living there, which would be in danger, too. Dean took the moment to put in that they were just checking it out and they weren´t sure if it was something supernatural. But Sam was so adamant that he was right, because he saw Jess´ death the same way day´s before she actually died. Thankfully Maria was spared another sibling fight, seeing as they arrived at their destination. The car stopped in front of a nice neighborhood with huge white houses. A scenery to raise children while the husbands were washing their cars. Dean and Sam just had bad memories from this place, obviously. But the strangest reaction was showing Maria. She get out of the Impala and stared at the old house of the Winchesters.

As soon as she noticed her companions stepping at her side, something snapped inside her. Something that she didn´t even know was there. " I had been here before. Everything looks so familiar".

" Maybe you were driving through this town one day?", Sam couldn´t take his eyes away from the place that had been his home for a small period of time. The place were his mother died and broke his fathers heart. The place were everything began.

Maria shook her head, knowing that she wasn´t even near Kansas. For some strange reason her mother had made a huge berth around this part of the country, a reason she never found out. Drawing her glance to the other house besides it, she gasped. She knew that house. Having found pictures when she was ten or eleven years old." Oh my god? My father had lived there?".

TBC.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Dean and Sam were stunned into silence after the loud exclamation from Maria, both knowing enough to be sure that she never said something about her father before, except that he left her and her mother when she was seven. But other than that there was nothing, at least nothing she wanted to share with them. It had always seemed that she was still angry with him for leaving them so suddenly and she hadn´t finished that topic in her life. Unfortunately every time the brothers tried to talk to her about it, she either blocked them or left the room to look after Alex.

" How do you know that your father lived there? Didn´t you say you lived in Roswell all of your life?", Sam couldn´t recognize anything from his memory, just the things from the photos his father had shown him. It was somewhat strange to be here after all those years.

Maria rubbed her arms, feeling a chill that wasn´t from the weather. Something was so damn familiar to her and she didn´t know what it was. She knew that she had never been here, the only memories she had were from Roswell. But there was the feeling to be home. " Yes. But I found picture in the attic one time", she pointed at the building in front of her. " And that house was on it. With my father. And I think another couple. A blonde woman and a dark haired man".

Dean thought immediately about his parents and if her father knew them in some twisted way. That would be strange, knowing that maybe their parents had been neighbors or even friends. Or he was just imagine things. " We should check the house, the reason for coming here".

Sam watched his brother stalking away. He knew that his sibling was more than pissed to be here again after he promised to avoid it as long as he lived. But Dean had been the one insisting to protect all innocent along the way of the search for their father. And this wasn´t anything different. Just that it was more personal this time. " Let´s get this show on the road".

" Yeah. I´m joining you in a bit", Maria went around the car and opened the door. She couldn´t leave Alex alone in the Impala, not when Khivar was after him and wanted him dead. She wouldn´t leave her sons side until she was sure that it was safe again. Careful she pulled him out of his seat and secured him in her arms, keeping the blue blanket tightly wrapped around him.

Then she went after her two boys, checking her surroundings for strange things and sometimes glancing at the house of her father. She wondered if he lived there again after he left her mother. Part of her wanted to find that out and part of her feared it. What would she say when he was really in this house and they would come face to face? Would she scream and cry and demand answers? Or would she just cry and threw herself in his arms? No, she was too angry at him for just packing his things and go. She would probably choose option c, using her slightly none existent alien powers to blast his ass around a bit before asking him all the questions plaquing her for twelve years.

Suddenly she was ripped away from her thoughts when she heard Dean. " Ah my wife and my son", he pulled her close and laid his arm lovingly around her shoulder. Smiling like a madman he kissed her temple while whispering that she should play along. " This is my family. I wanted to show them the old house where my little brother and me lived as children".

" Winchester. That´s strange, I found a box yesterday with pictures from that family", the woman, obviously living in the house, stepped aside to let them enter. She had a small boy on her arm, happily drinking from his bottle with something in it that looked like juice.

Maria entered the house first, boxing her "husbands" side to make him lose his grip on her. She couldn´t believe it that he was playing that game without her knowing about it. Thank god that she was a good actor and could mask her surprise. Bastard, she should divorce him immediately. All of the sudden her attention was drawn to the walls around her. Something was there, something cold and angry. She couldn´t quite make out what it was, but she was damn sure that it wasn´t a good spirit. Seemingly Alex was noticing it, too. He was squirming in her arm and getting unsettled. " Yeah honey. I feel it, too. Let´s get out of here".

Sam tried to soak everything up and watched his surroundings. He had hoped to feel some kind of familiarity, but there was nothing. Just the impression that something was going on under this roof. Evil had been here or was still here. Hearing his brother talking to the lady of the house, he looked for Maria. Seeing her walking quickly out of the door, he wondered what was going on and followed her in the same pace. Catching up with her outside he noticed a shudder going through her body. " What´s up? Why the hasty retreat?".

" I sensed evil in there and it was fresh. Alex also felt it", Maria noted her son was calmer now and had stopped squirming around, so it had been really the house or something in it. Rocking him to distract her from the bad emotions she could still feel.

Sam was a little stunned, because he thought he had been the only one sensing anything. He was rather glad that someone had the same gift as him, even though she had alien essense flowing through her veins. " Maybe the demon killing our mother came back to do what he couldn´t with me?".

Maria glanced at the exterior of the building. It appeared so homey and made for a family. But on the inside it was horrifying and frightening, especially for kids who were afraid of the dark anyway. " Could be. But why now? Why wait so long?"

" I don´t know", Sam heard his brother bellowing after his family. " I think we should go back inside".

Maria shook her head vehemently. She wouldn´t set one foot in there again, she was still trying to shake off the uneasy feeling in her gut. " You go. Tell Dean I´m not feeling so good and I´m waiting at the car".

Sam was in the process to ask her what was wrong, when Dean started to get inpatient, which was lacing his loud voice. " Yeah, I´m coming", he looked worriedly at Maria. " You stay out of trouble. If something´s happening, scream".

" Yeah. Now go before Dean comes out, asking why we´re both out here", she was close to roll her eyes. Both brothers were always so concerned about her, she wasn´t used to so much affection. Not even Michael had paid so much attention to her, even though he had tried. Turning around to walk back to the car, her eyes grazed the neighbar property for a moment. Something was calling her and she didn´t know what it was. Glancing around to see if someone was watching, she caved in. Her curousity was getting stronger and she couldn´t ignore it any longer. Walking slowly to the house of her father, she went through every emotion of a human being, within seconds. Her heart was beating out of control, her hands started to shake so that even Alex figure out that something was wrong with his mommy and her stomach was doing flip flops repeatedly. Losing her gut for a moment she stopped at a tree, looking behind her to make sure that nobody was there. There she saw it then, a cutting in the bark. Eying it closer she recognized the names. Jack loves Amy. That were the names of her parents. Stretching her hand out she trailed her finger on the it and immediately was hit with a flash.

_**Flash**_

_**A young Amy was standing in front of the huge house. Her excitement was really out of control. Even if she wanted she couldn´t get the smile out of her face for a long time. She was so happy and full of life that she wanted to share it with the whole world. Turning to the side she exchanged a loving glance with the man besides her. He was tall with beautiful green eyes and dark blonde hair. His smile was sincere. **_

" _**This is it honey. Our first home together".**_

_**Amy glanced at the house in front of them before taking her husbands hand. " Yeah. Now we can think about a few children".**_

_**Jack pulled her closer at his side, the joy clearly written on his expression. Putting his hand on his wife´s belly, he couldn´t wait until she was getting bigger.. Grinning from ear to ear he kissed her temple. " Maybe we should already start with the production"**_

" _**Behave, we´re not alone anymore", young Amy´s face grazed a visible flush while she tried to appear normal, seeing as their neighbors were coming to greet them. **_

_**Jack chuckled quietly, which disappeared as soon as Amy gave him a painful nudge in his rips. Rubbing the spot, he pouted towards his wife, already planning to get back at her for that. But before he could do that, another couple stopped in front of them. A small boy at their feet and the woman obviously pregnant. " Hey John, Mary", bending down he ruffled the boy´s hair. " Hey Dean. You´re growing so fast. You´re almost a real man".**_

_**John smiled at that. Laying a protective hand over his wifes round belly, he could feel his son kicking. " Yeah, the reason why we need another child we can pamper. Dean is getting too old for that".**_

" _**I can´t wait to get pregnant myself. Must be great", Amy started to glow, her face lightening up like the sun, her eyes shining brightly.**_

_**The other woman groaned, rubbing her belly with one hand while the other was on her back, trying to get rid of the ache there. " Sometimes yeah. Other times it´s hell".**_

_**Jack and Amy laughed, having nothing against a little challenge. They couldn´t wait to hold a small bundle of joy in their arms in the future, even if it meant pain and moodswings and not fitting in clothes anymore.**_

_**End Flash**_

Maria felt like she was thrown back in her body. Opening her eyes she realized that she was still standing at the tree with Alex in her arms. He was grimacing and it looked like he would start crying every moment. " Oh honey I´m sorry. Don´t cry". Rocking him tenderly she tried to get him to calm down. With no success. Seconds later the small guy wailed like an out of control car alarm system. Walking around she hoped that the motion would get him quiet. But it was like he began to get louder. Going to the car with fast steps, she opened the trunk and pulled a blue bag out of it. Putting it on the now closed trunk, she searched through it until she found a stuffed little ape. It was the ugliest thing she ever saw, but he loved it. " Look it´s Mr. Peepers!", she wriggled around with it in front of her sons face, but all he did was to raise his volume. " Oh Alex please stop crying". Pressing him closer to her body she didn´t know what do with him. He was neither hungry nor did he need a new diaper.

" Hey hey little man, why are you making all this ruckus?", Dean seemed to appear out of nowhere, taking Alex out of his desperate mother´s grasp and pulling him in his arms. He had heard the noise from the inside and worried a little, after Sam had told him that Maria had felt something and would be outside.

Maria was stunned into silence when the crying immediately stopped as soon as Alex was away from her. He giggled happily while his hands held onto Mr. Peepers, although she couldn´t remember giving it to him. " Now that´s not fair".

Dean was pleased to see that the small cookie was so comfortable with him that it was quiet again. Refraining himself to stick his tongue out at Maria, he just grinned at her. " He just likes me more than you. Get used to it, we males outnumber you".

" You wish", she put her hand up and almost pushed it in his smiling face before flicking her hair back and acting like she was purposely looking away from him. But now her eyes landed on the house again and she couldn´t shake the feeling that it wanted her to get inside, that something was calling her. " Could you do me a favour and stay with Alex. I want to look after something".

Dean followed her glance and he wondered what had her so fascinated with the property. But it wouldn´t hurt if she checked the place out. They would stay a little while longer anyway, after he heard Sam getting excited when the little girl told them that she saw something in her closet, which her mother instantly explained was just a nightmare. " No problem. Knock yourself out".

Maria squeezed his arm in graditude and then crossed the street. At first she almost ran, but the closer she came the slower she got. The front garden seemed to be dead, there were no plants, flowers or even a lawn. It seemed like nobody lived at this place for years if not longer. Stepping carefully on the old looking stair, which had been white at some point in the past, she felt the first tug. Something wanted to keep her away from the house, pulling her back while at the same time something pushed her further. Noticing fear and curiousity climbing up her body she ignored both and marched towards the entrace. Opening the fly screen she knocked on the splintering door. After seconds of waiting and nothing happened she knocked again, this time a little louder.

" Hello! Is anybody home?".

Suddenly the door opened with a loud squeak, which startled her for a moment and she jumped a bit. Getting her thundering heart under control she peeked around the door to see who was there. Shocked she saw that there was nothing. Glancing back to the car, she witnessed Dean playing with Alex and having fun. Smiling at the picture, she turned her attention back to the opened house. Breathing deeply in, she set a foot inside.

" Hi. The door just opened. I don´t want to intrude, but I wanted to take a look at this beautiful house".

Nothing getting in response she walked further into the hallway. Immediately the stench of rotting wood and something in the direction of a defect toilet was drifting in her nose. Pressing it close with her fingers she looked around. Everything appeared like there was no one living in here. Dust, dirt and spider webs were everywhere. Eying the walls, she screamed terrified when the front door closed with a loud bang. Reasoning with herself that it was just the wind, she continued her mission. The other rooms she walked past didn´t look any different than the rest and she went in the direction of a staircase leading into the second floor. The steps creaked when she put her foot on one and the noise seemed to be extremely loud in the silent house. Sometimes she thought she heard a voice whispering something, but again she reasoned that it was the wind. Everything else would make her piss her pants in fear and she didn´t want that. Arriving at the next level, she stopped a moment to look around. Instantly her gaze landed in the room closest to her. Glancing inside she was shocked to see that a crib was standing in there with a baby inside sleeping. Detecting a shadow out of the corner of her eyes she saw a man in a black robe stepping at the crib and bending down to the baby.

" Stop that. Get your dirty hands of the child".

The breath was knocked out of her when two yellow eyes stared at her and she knew that it was looking at her first demon disguised in a human suit. Preparing herself to kick his ass should he try to harm the baby, she was taken aback when something hard hit her and she crashed against the wall behind her while the door closed at the same time. Jumping to her feet, she stormed towards the room and pounded on the wood with all her might, screaming almost her lungs out. Seconds later the door opened with ease and the room behind it was empty, looking abandonded and dirty. Shaking her head, she thought she was losing her mind and it wouldn´t take long before the boys noticed it, too. Feeling a stinging in her hands she looked down and saw that she was bleeding at the sides of her hands where she had beat on the door. Seeing a bathroom besides her she went inside. Strangly there was still water coming out of the faucet. Holding her hurt hands under the spray she wondered what was going on in this house. She sensed fear, anger and sorrow mixed with a touch of pain. What aweful thing must have been happening inside this walls? Glancing down to check if her wounds were cleaned she screamed when she realized that blood was coming out of the faucet instead of water. Pulling her hands back and stepping away she finally saw the words written on the dirty mirror. **– Welcome back home Maria-**, which had her shaking in fear. Whirling around she wanted to get the hell out of here. Unfortunately she crashed against a body, arms trying to hold her.

" No, No. Let me go".

The arms around her eased their grip a little but didn´t let go. " Hey. It´s just me Dean".

Maria finally found the nerve to look up. Relieved she saw that it was indeed him. Throwing herself at him, she started to sob, glad to not be alone in this house anymore. " It was so horrible. The house it´s evil and it knows me".

" Shhh. It´s okay, I´m here now", looking over her shoulder he also saw the words on the mirror. Rubbing her back, he was surprised about his gut feeling that had told him that something was wrong. As soon as he saw the door falling close he knew that evil was trying to trap Maria in there. The only thing unclear to him was the reason for it. Obviously it was something or someone knowing her. Khivar? A demon? He didn´t know. " We should go. I don´t think it´s safe to stay here any longer".

Maria nodded in agreement, having the thought minutes before him. Still clinging to him both made their way outside, Dean always keeping everything in sight in case something tried to attack them. Carefully they walked down the steps, making sure that they didn´t fall or crashed through the friable wood. As soon as they were outside both breathed easier and the crushing feeling in their bodies left them.

Sam instantly stormed in their direction with Alex in his arms when he saw that his brother was supporting a pale looking Maria. He knew that something horrible had been going on, having sensed it. " What happened?".

" Something is in this house, something knowing Maria", Dean had never seen so much fear in a glance than he did with Maria. She was still shaking and her breathing was unregular. He was afraid that she was in shock. Tightening his arms around her he tried to make her feel safer.

Sam noticed the scared tone in his brothers voice, something that he never had heard until now. Oh shit, if Dean was already afraid, it was really bad. " A demon? Or do you think it´s this Khivar dude?".

Maria shook her head, which let her protectors heave a sigh of relief. At least she was still with them mentally. Even her skin color was coming back and she didn´t look like a ghost any longer. " No, it wasn´t Khivar. It was a demon. He was straight staring at me with his yellow eyes and he wanted to harm the baby in the crib. I wanted to stop him from hurting the poor child, but then I was blasted at the wall and the door closed. I pounded on it and I screamed until the door opened again. But there was nothing in the room anymore, just dirt and spiderwebs".

" Sounds like we have to watch those two houses now", and Dean would take care that Maria was far away from them. He didn´t want to see her anywhere near the properties. At least until he and Sam had figured out what was going on.

Maria dared to take a good look at the house where obviously her parents had lived before she was born. Her thoughts were drifting to the flash, where they both had been so happy with each other.But where was the connection with this demon and the baby? Had her mother kept secrets from her? Was there another reason why her father had disappeared on them? What had made them sell the house to live in Roswell instead? The fire at the neighbor house? They way Mary had died in there? " We have to find out everything concerning my fathers property".

Sam was surprised about her commanding tone after she just escaped the amityville horror house. She had been seeing something that was scaring or at least bothering her to the point that she needed to know everyting. " We will do that. But firstly we want to check out an old friend from our father".

" And we have to fill up the car", Dean wanted to be over with everything as fast as possible. The last thing he needed was to be stuck in his own nightmare and watching another woman die at the hand of something they couldn´t catch.

Maria took Alex from Sam, finally able to function normal again. She was okay with the plan, at least she would have time to get used to the situation and could think about a few question she could ask this old friend. " All right. Then let´s go", then an imaged popped in her head. A picture that had her curious. " Are John and Mary your parents?"

Sam and Dean immediately turned to her, both wearing the same expression. It was shock and recognation. Even if they wouldn´t say anything, their reaction was proof enough that she hit the nail right on the head with that one.

" How do you know that?", Dean was the first finding his voice again. He was wondering how she found that out, because as far as he could remember she never heard them talking about their parents name outside from father or mother.

Maria glanced at them like they were another species. For a moment she was stunned about the strange looks she got from them. Why did they appear so shocked? They were here because Sam had a nightmare and now the acted so weird because she asked something? They knew about her gift of seeing things that had happened." I´ve got a flash of my parents and your parents were in it, too. Obviously we´re more connected than we had thought", then she put her son in his seat before walking around the car and jumping in without paying attention to the brothers.

Sam shrugged his shoulders, accepting the answer. He was so glad that he wasn´t the only one with freaky nightmares that came true. It was good to know that he wasn´t the only freak in this show. " She got a flash. Why didn´t we think of that?".

" Dude, I swear if we´re finished here, we´re all going to a nice trip to Vegas. I can´t lose with two psychics", Dean didn´t understand their powers and sometimes it scared him, but he took what he got. And what they needed right now was a little cash to carry them for a little while longer.

Sam rolled his eyes before opening the door to the car and getting in. From time to time he wondered how they were related. They were so different like night and day, although at some points they were the same. Chuckling he imagined himself sitting besides his brother at a poker table, intensely trying to force a vision to help his sibling to win money.

Dean threw his hands up in the air, wondering what he said wrong this time. " What did I say?".

**Service Station**

Sam and Dean were sitting on the hood of the Impala after filling up, collecting what they knew about the house and what their Dad told them about the night their mother died in there while Maria had disappeared with Alex in the toilet to change his diaper. So the brothers were discussing alone the course of action they needed to take at the moment, because all they really had was Sam´s nightmare and a statement from a small girl, that could have been fantasying for all they knew.

" What now? What do you remember from the night?", Sam was curious. His brother usually didn´t talk about it and if he did it was vague and mostly the same their father said. He had been too young to have a memory about the incident, but Dean had been old enough to know some things.

Dean saw the pictures flying around in his head, things he had tried to forget or wanted to erase from his memory. It had been a hell of a night when he woke up to hear his father screaming the name of his mother. Then he smelled the smoke and he got out of bed to see what was going on. When he came to the room of his little brother, his father almost ran him over. Everything went so quickly and before he knew what was happening he was holding Sam in his arms and stormed out of the house, leaving his father inside. He just realized what had been going on when he stood outside and he saw the fire. Seconds later his father came shooting out of the door, grapped them and carried them away before the upper floor exploded. " Just what Dad told us. You know I wanted to see what the noise was and before I could do anything, Dad pushed you in my arms and said I should go out of the house immediately, which I did of course".

Sam knew that his brother didn´t like the reminder about the worst night of his life, but they needed even the slightest information. They had to treat this case just like every other case they did so far, even though it was more personal this time. " You were the one carrying me out? You never told me that".

" Really. I thought you knew that", Dean noticed emotions threatening to overwhelm him, emotions that he had locked away deep in his inside. He couldn´t do his job if he let his feelings rule his mind and he wanted to keep it that way. " Wait here. I have to take a piss", fastly he walked to the toilets, looking for a quiet corner. When he found one he pulled his cellphone out of his pockets and dailed his fathers number before lifting it at his ear. Ring for ring he waited until the voicemail picked up with his fathers voice telling that he wasn´t available at the moment, but if it was urgent they should call his son Dean and the number of his cellphone. Listening until the beep sounded he started to speak.

" Dad? I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you'll get 'em", he cleared his throat, afraid of his voice failing him." But I'm with Sam. And we're in Lawrence. And there's somethin' in our old house and the neighborhouse. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but..", his voice broke for a moment and he tried to keep himself together. " I don't know what to do", at that he choked up on his emotions, barely able to hold back his tears any longer. " So, whatever you're doin', if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Dad".

Maria stood frozen in place, having listened to Dean´s side of the conversation. She had never heard him so unsure and young, he sounded like a little boy asking for help. She was tempted to take him in her arms and comfort him. But she knew him and he hated to be pitied, just like her spaceboy had. Trying to be as quiet as possible she made her way back to Sam, who was already deep with his head in front of his laptop, searching for clues. Seconds later Dean joined them without making an indication about calling his father, so Maria kept her mouth closed, too. She would pretend not to have heard anything and he would pretend to never having this conversation.

**Autoshop**

After asking around a bit they finally found someone knowing John Winchester, it was his former partner in the garage, which both man had owned before everything went out of control. He seemed to be a little younger than their father and a little talkativer. Dean, Maria and Sam were impersonating cops, looking into the case of missing people.

" John disappeared twenty years ago, why are you interested in now?", the owner was confused while wiping his oil smeared hands on his dirty rag. He didn´t know what was going on.

Sam acted like he would look for something in his notepad. He flipped through the pages without really glancing at the things. At some point he stopped and pretended to have found what he searched for. " Because 5 more men disappeared like that. We need to know what kind of man John Winchester was to find some common ground with those other men. How would you describe him?".

George, the name was standing on his overall, sighed. For a moment it seemed like he had to think hard to remember anything. But after seconds he started to talk. " John was a great man, stubborn as hell, but honest. He hated to lose, no matter the game. It was probably the whole Marine thing", he made a break. " He was crazy after his wife Mary and he loved his boys very much".

" But that was before the fire?", Maria was finally with them again, after worrying if she could leave her son alone in the car. But he was still in her sight, so even if someone tried to hurt him she had enough time to kill that bastard.

George nodded. " At first he didn´t say anything. But after a while he told that something had made this fire and killed Mary with it. He even managed to drag Jack in all this".

Maria´s heart stopped in her throat of the mention of her father´s name and she tried to mask her reaction. Instead she managed to avoid eye contact with looking at Sam´s notepad. She needed a few seconds to calm down.

" Jack?", Dean noticed that it was his time again to ask questions, seeing as his two partners didn´t make an impression like they would open their mouths in the next seconds.

George shrugged his shoulders not even noticing that new costumers were waiting. He didn´t appear like he cared either. " Yeah, his friend Jack DeLuca. They both grew up together here and they even lived side by side with their wives until the fire".

Now that got Sam´s attention. He was stunned about that revelation, having never heard his father speak about someone named Jack. He wondered if he and Dean would have been friends with Maria if the fire would have never happened. " How do you mean dragged him in all this?".

" Well John made such a big fuss that Jack was so afraid of the same happening to his wife when she got pregnant with their daughter. Half a year after tiny Maria was born Jack sold his house all of the sudden to live in some other hicktown with his family. Never knew what happened".

Dean exchanged a worried glance with Maria, noticing her eyes starting to glassy at the mention of her father. She seemed to realize that everything she believed all her life had been built on lies, lies that hurt her. " Anything else you can remember?".

George shook his head, he was sure that he said everything important. But then something popped in his mind. " John went to some palm reader for help. I don´t know the name, but he was often there".

" Okay. Thanks for your help", Sam closed his notepad and went back to the car with Maria. She had been rather quiet and he wondered if it had been too much for her. She had found out things she didn´t know and things that would explain a lot to her. " Are you alright?".

Maria bit her lip to keep her from crying. She had lived here as a child and her mother never told her anything about it. She felt betrayed and lied to. Losing the fight with her tears she started to sob quietly. Immediately Sam wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back.

Dean saw them both embracing and he knew that they revealed something huge. But now the message on the mirror was making sense. Then he remembered what the owner had told them. Six months after Maria´s birth her father packed their things and left? Was a demon after her or her family? Did the same happen to her what happened to them? But her mother lived, which would discount his theorie? Or maybe his father had made this Jack so uncomfortable that he choose to move somewhere else. All those possibilities and no idea which was the right one. " Hey, I know it´s the worst moment ever, but I think we should look for this palm reader Dad went to. Maybe this person can tell us something more and maybe give us a few answers".

" Yeah. You´re right. Maybe he or she can help me, too", Maria felt so stupid for crying over something so small. She at least had been having a loving home with her mother, even through she had been raising herself most of the time. But she had lived at the same place, at the same town with the same people all her life. It was more than her boys had. Wiping her tears away she smiled shyly at Sam, who let her go as soon as he noticed that she had stopped crying.

Dean couldn´t help himself and he cupped her face lovingly, staring in her sad eyes. It always broke his heart to see those emeralds losing the usual sparkle and having this blank look in it. He never wanted to see her unhappy in any kind, which he knew was impossible. " Hey. We´re finding those answers for you and when we do, we´ll be right behind you having your back".

Maria was sometimes so surprised about the gentleness inside him. He wasn´t so expressive about his feelings or his concerns, but a few times he had almost shocked her with the way he voiced what was on his mind. And he had a special way of calming her just with wrapping his arms around her and making her feel safe and loved. " I know you do".

" Oh my god. Kiss each other and then let´s go", Sam was always in awe how strange this two were. Both seemed to have deeper feelings, but were too afraid to act on them, even though it appeared like Maria didn´t know about how deep this feelings really went. She was still secretly in love with the father of Alex, which Dean couldn´t understand.

Maria and Dean turned to their third member, staring at him like he had grown a second head. Then they faced each other again, smiling uncomfortable and parted slightly embarrassed. Sam just shook his head when he saw both getting in the car with a blush covering their cheeks. Glancing at Alex he wondered if even the small one noticed the tension between them. Without a word he put the boy in his seat and jumped in himself.

**Chicago**

Michael was at the end of his patience. Two months they were cruising around looking for Maria and two months they seemed to be always one step behind her. He was frustrated and tired and angry and every feeling in between. He didn´t even know that he possessed so many feelings. Kyle was the only one standing behind him one hundred percent while the others just went with them because they had nothing better to do. Liz and Max had given up finding their missing friend ever again two weeks ago, saying that it was pointless to chase her if she didn´t want to be found. One day they would cross path with each other, but until then they should try living their life in the present, which Michael answered with a nice punch to his brother´s nose. Strangly nobody had interefered. That was probably because Liz was sick of the other, Kyle hated to be in a room with Max, Michael hated everybody and Isabel was just acting strange while Max was trying to keep everyone together. The runaway train had finally taking its toll on every passenger and they already started to get on each others nerve. It was even worse knowing that one person was not with them, who should be there. Liz blamed mostly Michael for that while Kyle thought it was nobody´s fault. Michael in return thought it was all because of Liz, she as friend should have fought his decision, which she hadn´t done. She had just stood besides him without opening her mouth once. Max had no opinion to the topic, seeing as both had a point.

" I´m so sick of waking up every morning in another hotel room and trying to remember where I am and who I am at the moment", Kyle complained in the safety of the own room he shared with Michael, the only one he could stand right now.

Michael turned his attention away from the tv and faced his friend. He knew that feeling all too well. To top of it, he was searching for his child and the only woman he ever loved. It was a heavy burden, but one he would carry until he found them. " Yeah. Me, too".

Kyle stood up from his bed and walked to the window. Watching people walking on the sidewalks deep in conversations with their companion, he wondered what would have happened if everything would have went different. Where would he be now and what would he do? " Do you sometimes ask yourself what you would be doing if the FBI would have not interrupted our graduation ceremony?"

" Truthful? Really often", Michael had pictured his future in vivid details. He wouldn´t confess it out loud, but he had found a small house that he had liked and he thought it would be perfect to raise children in there with Maria at his side as his wife. He knew that it wouldn´t happened no matter what, but the idea had kept him sane and gave him a reason to man the grill in the crashdown almost everyday. " I had made deposit for an engagement ring for Maria. Two more payments and it would have belonged to me".

Kyle was stunned speechless with that revelation for a few seconds. His eyes widened and his mouth moved in silence. Getting his voice back, he swallowed to get rid of the dryness. " Are you saying that you had planned to marry Maria?".

Michael shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. " I thought if I knew that I would never love anybody like I love her, I should make it permanent. And maybe I wanted everybody to know that she was mine".

" Then why did you leave her behind?", Kyle saw the love shining in his friends eyes, an expression he had missed for so long and knew from personal experience. Unfortunately he was a good friend. Finally he was aware how Alex had felt all this time.

Michael didn´t know the reason for that himself. For months he was trying to find the answer to that question. He was so sure that it hadn´t been his intention. The more he thought about that night, the more he knew that it hadn´t been his decision to go without her, even though he had been thinking that it really had been about his hurt pride. " I really don´t know. One moment I´m happy that she wants to go with me and the next I´m refusing to take her with us. I don´t know what came over me".

Kyle was in the process to pump his friend for more information when the door opened with out a knock. Both men immediately prepared themself to blast the intruder, Kyle had started to crackle like a foil two months ago and was now letting explode everything in sight when he was emotional. Relieved they realized it was just Isabel.

" I know where we have to go next".

Michael instantly noticed that something was wrong with her. For the first time he really glanced at her, trying to see right through her exterior. Something was off with her, something he couldn´t pinpoint or even name. But it was there. Suddenly he saw her eyes flicker yellow for a split second. Before anyone could do something he had Isabel pinned at the wall and was right getting into her face. " What are you and what have you done to Izzy?!".

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Michael felt Kyle stiffen behind him and he knew that he only had a few seconds before the other man either interfered or got help. Neither options weren´t sitting with him so well. Immediately as soon as he had the creature looking like Isabel secure on the wall, he turned to his friend, who was staring at him with a slight hint of panic.

" Don´t worry. It´s not her".

Kyle didn´t appear to believe his friend completly. His glance was darting between both aliens and he couldn´t see any reason for Michael to lose it like that. Isabel was looking like always, a little tired around the eyes, but that was to be expected after the last few months. " Are you sure?".

At that the thing inside the alien princess reared its ugly head. Her eyes had taken on a yellow color and the face was distorted to a cruel mask of anger and darkness. The whole demenour changed within seconds. " Believe him, he already had the pleasure of meeting me", Isabel whirled her head around and gave her attention the other male in the room. " Although I thought you would notice me sooner".

" Who are you? What do you want from me? And how long are you using my friend for your sick game?", Michael hoped that Isabel was still alive in there somewhere and she just got possessed like Larek did with the humans. But he feared that it was a shapeshifter having either killed her or taking her prisoner.

The creature smiled sickly at him, enjoying the torment in the glance of his opponent. He was feeding on the fear and anger of others and this one had more than enough. It would last him weeks if not months. " Okay. I have no name, because from where I am we don´t need something so trivial like that. I don´t want anything from you, not directly. I just want to make sure that you stay away from Maria. At least long enough for my plan to begin. And I´m using your friend since New Orleans".

Michael heard his friend gasp behind him and if he wouldn´t be so pissed he would probably voiced the same. But this bastard knew about Maria and he had something planned, something involving her. He would do everything possible to prevent that. " How do you know Maria and what is your plan?".

" Do you think I´m stupid? Like I would tell you that", the thing spat out disgusted. His smug expression immediately replaced with hate.

Now it was Michael´s turn to grin, having noticed the advantage in that statement. This evil being didn´t know anything about him or about Isabel for that matter. He could use that. Turning to Kyle he gave his friend a sign to get the others. They had to do something and maybe make a hasty escape. After he got the affirmation, he paid attention to his opponent again. " Okay, we can do it the hard way or we can do it the painful way. I want to know what your intention is towards Maria and how you even know about her? Believe me you better listen or I won´t hesitate to cause you major harm. And that´s no bullshit".

The creature with the yellow eyes didn´t look so fazed from the young man´s threat. It wasn´t like the boy would really hurt this shell he was in. As much as he could gather from her mind, she was like a sister to that punk. " You won´t do it, because you would hurt this nice girl and you wouldn´t harm your family. Or would you trade this life for that of your beloved Maria? I can make you a deal if you want?".

" I don´t make deals with the enemy. Besides I don´t trust you", Michael hated the fact that this thing knew that he wouldn´t hurt Izzy, even if it meant he could get his answers that way. But that didn´t mean he would just give up so easily.

Isabel´s face twisted into a demonic grimace, scaring the two males in the room, Kyle having come back after he had knocked on the door from the others, not wanting to miss something. " You should better trust me, boy. I´ve got the power to rule over Maria´s life. I can let her live or I can kill her so quick that she doesn´t even know what´s happening".

Michael pushed the possessed body tighter into the wall, almost breaking bones in the process. His eyes turned completely black and he bared his teeth like an agressive pit bull having found some nice bloody meat. " You leave her alone. I swear I will haunt your ass if you as much as lay a finger on her".

" Sorry, can´t do that. But I would suggest the same to you. Leave her alone, she´s no longer part of your life and she never will be, unless you agree to share her with another man".

Michael wondered if this creature was telling the truth about that, but then he remembered the flash and the lovesick expression of this guy standing near Maria. There was probably more to it than it had looked at first. Still it could be just a trick to get him furious. " You´re lying! She would never cheat on me".

Isabel started to laugh loudly at that and it sounded creepy even if it was her voice making that noise. But it was so unlike her that it made the men in the room a little uncomfortable. Then it abruptly stopped and she stared hard and long at her opponent. " Wake up boy, she´s way out of your league now. She had been even before she had this little vacation at that base from those FBI Agents".

" What do you know about that?", if he was the reason for the suffering Maria had been through Michael wouldn´t hesistate to kill this thing even if it meant killing Isabel with it. He was so sick of threats, either everyone having something against him should take a shot or shut the f*** up.

The creature twisted into an amused mask, openly mocking this young teenagers barely out of their diapers. He had been wandering this earth long before any human being had been there. " Not much, but probably more than you do. But unlike you I know exactly where she is, who is with her and what her plan is for the future".

Michael was finally fed up with this sick game, He wanted answers and preferably right this instance or he would really lose his cool and tear this motherf***er apart piece by piece. And he would hunt him forever if he had to do to kill him over and over again. " You either tell me everything now or I won´t hesitate to kill you"

" Sorry son. As amusing as this sounds, I have another appointment at the moment and have to take a raincheck. But I´m sure we´re crossing path again someday", at that Isabel´s body went slack and she almost crashed on the floor. Thankfully she was held from two strong arms and she just fell over slightly.

Michael caught his friend with a little help from Kyle, who joined him as soon as he noticed that this evil thing had left the building. Both men brought the half dead girl to the nearest bed to lay her on it. Isabel on the other hand wasn´t aware of her surroundings, feeling drained and a tad bit violated. After her incident with Khivar she never wanted to feel like someone was taking over her own body again. But unfortunately it happened and she was glad that it was over. Feeling secure with the presence of her family she finally stopped the fight and went to sleep while the boys watched over her.

**Lawrence**

Maria, Alex, Sam and Dean were sitting in some kinda outer office from Missouri Mosley after they had found out which Palm reader George from the garage had talked about. They only had to search in the telephone book, which hadn´t taken too much time as they imagined and it hadn´t hurt that John Winchester had his little journal where he wrote in everything he thought was important for him or his sons. The couch they were on right now was comfortable and Maria was thinking about never standing up from this spot ever again. Although the backseat wasn´t so bad, it was still a difference. Alex in her arms was feeling at peace, too. He was quiet and looking around curiously, something that was definitely from her. Suddenly a small, slightly well covered woman with dark skin came out of one of the rooms with a relieved looking man in tow.

" Don´t you worry about a thing. Your wife is absolutely crazy about you", opening the door the palm reader let the man out. As soon as he was out of earshot, she shook her head. " Poor bastard, his wife is cold banging the gardner".

Dean was confused, thinking that people came here to hear the truth and not some bullshit. " Then why didn´t you say that to him?".

The lady glanced at the small group of young adult with the cute baby. It had been a long time since she last saw them. Two of them had been to little to remember anyhing. And the other one had been too shocked to remember their first meeting. " The people don´t come to know the truth, they come here for good news". Then after seeing that nobody of them was making a move to stand up she waved her hand. " Well, Sam, Dean and Maria come on. I ain´t got all day".

Maria was surprised about the way she had said her name, like she would know her. Standing up with her son tightly secured in her arms she followed after her boys, who seemed to be as curious to hear what the lady had to say like she was. Together the four stepped into another room, which appeared to be the living room and stopped in the middle facing their host.

" Oh my god. You all grew up handsome", Missouri smiled at them and then she turned to Dean, pointing a finger in his direction. " And you were one goofy looking kid, too".

Sam and Maria hid their smiles by dropping their heads, already liking the woman with her open character. It was nice to know that there were people out there not lulled by the charm of oldest of the Winchesters. Even Alex seemed to find it funny and he happily gurgled, spittle coming out of his mouth, which his mother of course was immediately wiping away with her hand.

Then Missouri stepped closer to the little group, taking Sam´s hand. As soon as their skin came in contact, her expression changed. Her sad eyes turned to him and it was like she saw something. " Oh I´m so sorry about your girlfriend. And your father is missing?".

Sam was slightly scared about the way she was seeing so much with just a touch. He was afraid to ask if she could take a look in the future to tell him if this life would be different for him someday. " Yeah. How do you know that?".

" You thought about it just now", Missouri glanced at the three people standing in front of her, strangers and yet not. Especially the oldest. She could still remember the hostile gaze upon her as soon as the small boy stepped into the room and how quickly it changed. In that moment she saw a child having lost his mother.

Dean was sure that she could help them finding their father. If she knew that he was gone, she would be surely know where he was right now. Even though he didn´t exactly believe in this things, he wanted to believe. And if it just was to get his father back to them. " Do you know where he is, is he okay?".

Missouri was confused, wondering why he was asking her that. " I don´t know".

" You don´t know? I thought you were a psychic?", Dean should have known it better. There were all frauds, trying to lure the money from innocent people. It was just about making money and nothing more.

Missouri finally realized what Dean meant. But she wasn´t like that and she hated people who thought she would know anything just because she was a palm reader. Not even she had to power to see in the future or in the past. "Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air", she had to sit, because she knew that this would be longer conversation. Pointing at the couch she told them to take a seat. As soon as the three sat down, she glared at Dean. "You put your foot on my coffee table, I'm gonna whack you with a spoon!".

Dean was taken aback, because he had been really in the process to do that. But how could she know that. Staring at her wide eyed he ignored the quiet laughing from his companions. " I didn´t do anything".

" But you were thinking about it", Missouri was glad to have this gift sometimes, it had saved her ass a few times in her life. And there were moments she hated it, because it wasn´t exactly useful in some situation.

Sam and Maria exchanged an amused glance with each other, enjoying the bashing a little too much. It was always a nice change to see Dean getting knocked down a few nodges and he really needed it once in a while. Suddenly Alex started to fuss, making an impression like he wanted to start wailing every minute. Maria even knew what her son wanted, noticing the glances he was giving her breasts. The boy needed his feeding. " Miss Mosley, is there a room I can use? My son is hungry and he can be pretty loud when I´m not giving him anything".

Missouri smiled at the little guy squirming in his mother´s arms. She had a soft spot for babies and especially those who weren´t quite like others. She could sense something powerful in the boy, something that was more distinct in his mother. " My bedroom. It´s just out the door and immediately right".

" I´ll be back shortly", Maria stood up with Alex tightly in her embrace. She felt slightly uncomfortable with the glance from the woman, there was something strange in it. But it wasn´t anything evil, it was just the way she seemed to see right through her, seeing all her darkest spots and she didn´t like that. She breathed out relieved when she was in the other room alone with her son. Sitting on the nice big bed, she immediately began with the feeding and letting her gaze wander around. It was obvious that just one person was living here and that this person was female, especially seeing the many beauty products. But then there were things that were making her afraid just by looking at them. Things such as voodoo puppets, powders and old books about dark magic. Missouri was obviously more than just an ordinary palm reader, which was seconds later confirmed as she had strained her ears to listen to the conversation in the other room. She even heard the story about John Winchester asking Missouri for help to find out what dark energy was in the house and what killed his wife, unfortunately it was hard to make anything out and the only thing sure was that it was something evil and that it had a purpose, which nobody knew what it was. And then she said something that made Maria´s blood run cold. She told the boys that the same evil came back three years later in the neighbor house where Jack and Amy lived with their young baby girl. At that Maria stood up, not caring if her son was still sucking on her breast, but she had to find out what had happened in that house. She stepped into the room the moment Dean asked the million dollar question.

" But if it was the same, why is her mother still alive?".

Missouri stared at Maria, seeing the many unanswered questions in the young girls eyes and much more. She had been watching too many evil in her young age and it scared Missouri. No one should have to go through so much misery. " John had been telling everything to his best friend Jack, who in return had been some kind of paranormal agent. He had worked with psychics, telekinetics and other people claiming they were extraordinary, so it wasn´t so strange to him to hear John telling him something about demon´s and dark energies. Jack had believed him and when his daughter was born into this world, he made a habit of keeping an eye on her at nights, looking for unusal shadows or people acting weird. In the night when Maria was six months, Jack went to the bathroom for a moment and when he came back a man with yellow eyes was standing in front of her crib. He didn´t hesitate and started shooting at the thing, scaring his baby girl in the process. The next day he put his house up for sale, packed his things and drove away".

Maria couldn´t remember her mother ever telling her that her father had been working with paranormal people. The only thing she had mesmorized was that her father had been always on the road, disappearing for weeks at a time. But when he was there he treated her like a princess. Well and he often had fights with her mom until he just left when she was seven. " Do you know where he is now?".

" Not at the moment. But sometimes he calls me to check if I have heard anything new", Missouri knew that the young woman was very much in the dark about her heritage and what really happened that night. It was more than coincidence that she met with the Winchester boys, but she didn´t know what it meant right now.

Maria was taken aback from that statement, tears shooting in her eyes. Her father had enough time to call this palm reader, but not his own daughter. Twelve years and no word from him about why he disappeared and where he was. And now she had to find that out second hand. What a great father she had. " That´s wonderful. The next time you have him on the phone tell him from his daughter that she had waited for years that he would come back and that she had grown up perfectly without him".

Missouri wasn´t an empath, but even she felt the pain from Maria hitting her hard. This girl had too much demons on her own that it was a wonder she was still so sane. But it was prove that she was stronger than she appeared at first. " Don´t. He didn´t leave you on his free will. He just wanted to make sure that the demon would never be able to lay a hand on you again. Your mother couldn´t understand that and suggested he should stay away before he would infect his daughter with this bullshit".

" But my mother told me something complete different. Why should she do that?", Maria was confused and hurt and everything that was between those feelings. Noticing that her son had stopped his feeding, she pulled him away and tucked her breast back in her bra with one arm. Patting Alex little back she waited for him to burp, which he did really loud. All the while she had been keeping the woman in her sight, trying to see something in her eyes.

Missouri smiled at the sound coming from the small guy, thinking about the last time she had seen such a beautiful baby when John came with his sons and Sam was still a baby then. She wondered if the boy was Dean´s son, she detected some resemblence and she saw the way he was staring at Maria. " Are you two married?".

Maria glanced stunned between the woman and her boys, wondering who she meant with that and how that had anything to do with her mother. She wanted to know more about her and her father nothing else. " What has that to do with everything?".

" Nothing, but the small boy looks a little like Dean and I thought you two were a couple", Missouri felt some strong feelings coming from both, even if Maria was still a little hesitant to acknowlegde it. There was something blocking her, another young man with a dark aura and a dangerous secret.

Maria almost dropped her son on the ground. She and Dean a couple? That was hilarious, considering the way they fought all the time because of small things. For a moment she startled, remembering that she had done the same with Michael, too. Maybe it looked more intimate than it was, but they weren´t like that. " He´s not Alex father and we´re not together in that way. We just crossed path by accident".

Missouri wondered how such a bright young girl could be so stupid. It was more than obvious that this meeting between those kids was anything but just an accident. Something had wanted them together, even though the reason was still unclear. " I have to burst your bubble a little, but it was no coinsidence that you three found each other. It was fate".

" I don´t believe in fate, sorry. I believe in me and the people I care about. But outside that, nothing", Maria knew that fate was just another cute word for destiny and destiny had just caused havoc in her life before. Because destiny meant to have no free will of your own, you have your life already mapped out from someone else. Destiny was just for weak people with no strength to create their own path.

Missouri felt a wave of pain rolling over her and she sensed so much turmoil in the mind of this young girl. But she had to know the true reason for meeting up with people that had been living at the neighborhouse before she was even born and that shared the same situation. " You have made bad experience with love and destiny, but you can´t give up on that just because you have been hurt before. Everyone has a purpose in this world and most of the people never know about their purpose until the day they die. You´re spared to wonder about why you´re on this planet and you don´t want to acknowledge it".

Maria wanted so bad to disagree about that statement, but deep down she knew that the woman was right and she was letting her hurt feelings cloud her senses. Calming down enough to be reasonable again, she took a seat in the middle of Dean and Sam, who had been awefully quiet the whole time. Thankfully for once they had realized it was better to shut up. " Okay, then tell me what my purpose is if you already know my destiny".

" I don´t know your destiny or that of this boys. I just know that it was no accident that brought you to them. There´s a deep connection and it has a reason for being there", Missouri wasn´t always sure what made her say some things, but she was usually right about those things. Even if she had no idea what it would mean in the moment and most of the time the person opposite her was as clueless as her.

Maria was too tired to get into a discussion about destiny and all the things in between. The dream and the strange incident in her old house had taken its toll on her. She just wanted to get the information about the reason for coming her and then let the boys handle the details while she and her son took a small nap. " Okay, let´s cut it there. We´re here to find out what you found in the Winchester house".

Dean, realizing that everything had finally caught up with her, snatched Alex out of his mommy´s arms and sat the small boy on his lap. He couldn´t get enough from the little man and he had to touch him to make sure that nothing dark was near him. " Yeah. What did you find and what´s inside now?".

" I felt something, but it wasn´t anything concrete. It´s different now, like it´s something complete new", Missouri had kept the house in her sight. Until a few days she hadn´t detected anything out of the ordinary. That was before the woman moved in with her two children. Now there was something going on inside this walls, something that wanted to harm those kids.

Sam realized that now the tiny storm was over it was finally time to get back to business. Concentrating on his and Maria´s bad feeling in the house, he knew that whatever there was they had to destroy it or at least manage to make it disappear. It wasn´t just about them, he was afraid for Jenny and her kids. " Okay, maybe we should go all back and find out what it is and get to work".

Dean was very much for that plan, wanting to make their stay as fast as possible. He felt really uncomfortable here at this place. It was strange that he hadn´t wanted to get away from Lawrence when he was a child and now he didn´t want to be here longer than it was needed. " Okay. That sounds like we have something to do. But", he glanced at the tired looking girl besides him. " I want you to stay away from both houses until we´re sure what it is. You can find a motel for us and check in. Maybe sleep a little".

" Sleep would be good. I´m beat", Maria jumped to her feet, ready to hit the sack every minute now and she was getting a headache from all the information she had been receiving today. Hopefully Alex would cooperate and let her sleep for more than just two hours.

**Motel near the highway**

Maria was sitting on the bed, glancing at the added people in the room. Jenny and her kids had been forced out of their house so that Dean, Sam and Missouri could exorcise the whole building, at least that´s what she had been getting told from her boys. They had just said that she should keep them save until they gave the okay for them to come back. Rubbing her face she was glad to have been getting a little sleep, even if it hadn´t been that long, seeing as they had guest. But at least her headache was gone, that was at least something good. Looking at Alex lying peacefully in his carrier bag, sucking on his fist and sleeping, she was amazed about the many times the little one was out like a light. She had thought that babies were loud and wouldn´t let their parents get rest. But her son was actually pretty quiet, well as long as he wasn´t hungry, dirty or noticed his mommies distressed state.

" He´s beautiful. But you´re awefully young to have a baby already".

Maria turned her gaze on the woman opposite her with her children tightly pressed at her sight. She had to get used to the question and they were absolutely right about that. She was young, but things happened and they had to live with their decisions. " Yeah. He wasn´t exactly planned, but I had been stupid and heavily in love with the father".

Jenny noticed the past tense in that statement, figuring out that Dean wasn´t the father from the small guy and just a ploy to get in her home. It was strange, because he had similarities with the boy and nobody would see that they weren´t related at all. And the young man was very much in love with her. " Where´s the father? Did he leave you as soon as he found out that you´re pregnant?".

" No, it wasn´t like that. He had a few problems with certain people and had to keep a low profile. I noticed that I was pregnant a few weeks after he disappeared", Maria wasn´t sure if how he would have reacted if she would have told him the news. One thing was for sure he would have tried to run away from her, feeling forced into something solid. But after he would have calmed down, he would have done the right thing. He was very much a family person, even though he had never told that anyone, she was the only one knowing that. It had made her feel really special and she hadn´t been having the chance him how much that had meant to her.

Jenny saw the swirling emotions in the young girls eyes and it was very apparent that she was still in love with the guy, but slowly trying to get used to a life without him. There had to be more going on, however she wouldn´t ask." So you´re living with these guys. Isn´t it strange without any female friend?".

Maria could make a novel about the weird habbits of men. Dean was usually leaving his towel on the floor, forgot to put down the toilet seat, was constantly talking about or to his car, had no concept of subtile or tact, he cursed too much and he was sometimes a real hothead. Sam on the other hand was always asking how she was and driving her crazy with his overconcern, although she was touched that he cared so much about her. " Don´t get me started about that topic. It´s like living with two pigs most of the time. They have no manners and they don´t understand a few things about women".

" I can imagine. My husband had to learn a few strange habbits when we first moved together. Like not to bother me five days a month, not to discuss with me when I´m angry or that I would need the perfect purse for every outfit. Oh and my obsession about shoes", Jenny knew how men were and she missed her female friends as well. It was something that she had been leaving behind when she moved away from her hometown. Maybe she could stay in touch with the young girl, seeing as they were in quite the same situation.

Maria knew that herself, just that it was a little different with her. When she was angry there was usually something getting broken in two, destroyed beyond repair or slightly deranged. Thankfully she was so careful as not to hurt a person or even an animal. " You´re telling me. Dean and Sam aren´t used to female company, they both have lost their mother when they were pretty young and they were usually just on the road with their father. So I´m cutting them some slack sometimes".

Jenny had heard the stories about the house she was living in. But she hadn´t believed the things she got told. Demons and dark energies, that was something from horror movies or science fiction novels, but nothing real. But after having been living in there with her kids for this past week, she started to think that maybe some things were real. " Is it true about the woman burning in my house?".

" Unfortunately yes. Their mother died in there and they barely escaped the flames", Maria knew more than she wanted about the incident which had costed the boys a parent. She had been receiving flashes from both and sometimes more than she felt comfortable with. Usually their mother was a blur while their father was looking older and more tired, not like the version she had seen in her flash.

Jenny was just in the process to reply something when a song was being played. It was buttons from PCD and it was getting louder and louder. Until the girl took a cellphone away from the nightstand and put it on her ear. Minutes went by and the only sound in the room was the breathing from the children and sometimes even a gurgle from the little one. But other than that there wasn´t anything. Then the phone call was ending and the cellphone was stowed into the jeans pocket. " And? Can we go back?".

Maria smiled relieved, always worrying about the boys when they were working alone on a mission. She wasn´t used to be left behind, most of the time in the middle of the action, aside from the short period when she was pregnant. " Yes. Everything is over and you´re allowed back".

" Thank god", Jenny stood up, took her kids and was immediately on her way out, no even waiting a second longer to get home. Her children were getting tired and they needed their sleep. Strapping the small ones in their seats, she got in and drove away.

Maria was tempted to lay back down and catch a little nap time. But then she remembered that she had the Impala, which meant she was responsible for her boys to get back here. Groaning annoyed at everybody not leting her get a break she stood up, took the baby carrier with her son and pulled her jacket from the coat tree besides the door before climb in the car.

**Winchester House**

Dean and Sam stepped down the small stairs in front of the building, glad to have surived another attack from a ghost. It had been a pretty close call for a moment. But like always they had managed everything til the end. Now all they both wanted was to take a hot shower, eat something and then fall asleep on the spot. Unfortunately the moment they noticed that something was missing, they knew that it could still take a while for that. Seeing Jenny coming towards them with her children tightly at her side, they wondered why Maria wasn´t with her.

" Where´s Maria?", Dean hadn´t a good feeling and he was usually right with that. His instinct had already saved his ass more times he could count. And after the small episode with this Khivar dude and the strange happening in the house, he was a little more worried about their third member.

Jenny glanced over her back, having been under the impression that the black Impala had been driving right behind her. She had seen the headlights following her away from the motel. Strange, now there wasn´t anyone there. " She had been behind me. Weird, I hadn´t even realized her missing".

Dean glanced worriedly at his brother, knowing that something must have been happening to Maria and Alex. Feeling for his weapon he was already in the process to kidnap Jenny´s car when he heard the unmistakable sound of his baby coming towards them. Breathing out relieved he saw the Impala heading their way with their missing member behind the wheel. Immediately he went to the driver´s door and opened it. " Where have you been?".

" Woah, what´s eating you?", Maria was slightly taken aback about the more than strange welcome from the guy, wondering what had gotten into him to react like that. She had been on her way to them, what did he think she had been doing.

Dean didn´t even give her time to step out of the car before he pulled her out and embraced her tightly. Since learning that they had more in common that it had appeared he felt a deeper connection to her and that made him more afraid to lose her. " Don´t do that again".

Maria raised both eyebrows, not knowing what she had missed and what had been going on before she came here. Glancing at Sam she tried to find out what had gotten into his brother, but he just shrugged confused as well. " Are you feeling well?".

" Why haven´t you been with Jenny?", Dean pushed her a little too roughly away from him to glance in her face. For a moment he was close to shake her because she scared him to death, but then he notice her more than afraid expression.

Maria didn´t know how she should react, not sure if he was possessed or if he was just a tad bit over the top. Building a connection to him, of course without him realizing anything, she tried to find out which one of her option was true. Looking inside his emotions she saw that it was his overprotectiveness and she was relieved. " Relax, would you. I just got held up for a moment and your baby is still intact".

Dean let go of her and rubbed his face, making an attempt to get his feelings under control. He felt embarrassed for losing it like that, especially when it was about nothing at all. But this enviroment made him uncomfortable and jumpy. " From what did you get held up?".

" I thought I had seen my father and went out to check it. But it was nothing", Maria had been so sure about her assumption, having known that face passing her on the sidewalk. Unfortunately as soon as she was able to park the car, the man had been gone and she hadn´t found him again. Now she thought she had been imagine things, which wasn´t so unusual considering she had learned a few things about her father hours ago.

Dean glanced worriedly at her, knowing the feeling to look for the father. She had found out some things she had thought had been behind her and now everything she ever believed seemed to be a lie. " What do you say about a movie and some chili dogs?".

Maria brightened instantly, having almost forgotten why she loved to be on the road with this boys in her rant to Jenny. They sensed when she needed a little comfort and they gave it to her without making too much fuss. " Can I choose the movie?".

" I know I will regret this words as soon as I say them. But yeah you can choose", Dean acted like it was some big gesture for him to give her the commando. Truthfully her taste in movies wasn´t so different from his, well except she was in a mood and started bawling her eyes out because some dude drowned while trying to save a woman from the angry sea or some old man read some story to an old lady, trying to get her to remember their love. That was too much for him.

Maria beamed at him, kissing his lips quickly in happiness. Realizing what she had just done her eyes widened and she blushed, having not wanted that. It had been just coming out of her and strangly it had felt good. Smiling embarrassed she turned around and jumped in the backseat of the Impala.

Dean was still a little blown by the kiss, even if it had been a quick one. She barely had touched his lips and yet he had felt it deep to his core. It had felt so right and after her reaction she had felt something, too. Touching his lip with his fingertip he could still feel a tingling there. Her lips had been as soft as he had imagined it and even better.

" Dude, let´s go", Sam had kept in the background, thanking Missouri and talking a moment with Jenny, to observe his companions from afar. Now he was a little surprised and amused about his brother behaviour, doing like he hadn´t been kissed before. But that just told Sam that there were very deep feelings involved, on both sides.

Dean glanced a tad bit dazzed at his brother, fearing that he had been dreaming everything and every moment he would wake up. " Did that just happen?".

Sam rolled his eyes, not understanding those two and quite frankly he didn´t want to actually. He had enough to do with his own not existing love life, he didn´t want to add there´s to his problems. " Just get in the car".

**Late at night **

Maria couldn´t go back to sleep, knowing that her boys were out without her again. They had been going back to their former home as soon as Sam had told his brother that he had the same nightmare again and that it wasn´t over. She had immediately said she would go with them, but of course Dean had heavily protested, telling her that it wasn´t safe for her and that she should stay as far as possible from the buildings. Strange was that she had listened to him without getting into a fight with him, which was very unusual for her. But the kiss between them had made her confused. Actually it wasn´t the kiss itself, it was the feeling she had gotten from it. The last time she had felt anything outside of friendship towards the person she was kissing, had been with Michael and she was afraid, afraid to get her heart broken again. She knew that Dean wasn´t exactly the most romantic man, he wasn´t very faithful to women, having seen him making out with different girl over the time she had been with the boys and he shut down as soon as something seemed to touch him deep inside. But on the other hand he was very loyal to those he loved, he would do everything for the people he protected and he would be a damn good father to Alex. Shaking her head she was almost laughing at her stupidness, she was worrying about something that wasn´t something to worry about at all. He wasn´t in love with her like that and she was just starting to feel the long time she had spent with him. They were very much alike and she was confusing that with tight friendship. Besides she was still in love with Michael, despite the way he had left her behind. It was weird, she sometimes had felt him near and it had been comforting for her, because it had been something familiar. But she was sure she just had imagined everything, knowing that he and the others were probably not even in this country any longer or at least so far away that she would never cross path with them, which she found sad. She would love to know what they were doing right now and if they were thinking about her, wondering if she was still in Roswell. Hopefully they were safe and alive, sticking together like family. She couldn´t bear the thought something would happen to them, not after she had struggled so hard to forgive them for leaving her. Maybe Isabel would get in contact via dreamwalking with her and they could exchange information. At that she stopped short, realizing that nobody of them had tried to dreamwalk her before, neither Michael nor Isabel, which she found odd. Why hadn´t they tried to communicate with her, making sure that she was alright or that she was safe? Didn´t they care about her wellbeing or if she was alive or not? What about Jesse? God, they were probably enjoying their freedom in some small town and act out their deepest fantasies. Just as she was in the process to get into a foul mood Alex was waking up, staring widely at her. Instead of starting to cry like he usually did, he just glanced around like he wanted to look for something. Maria stood up from the bed she had been sitting on and took her son out of his make shift bed she had done with lots of pillows.

" Hey buddy. What´s going on?", seeing the small boy breathing faster than it was normal, she was panicking, fearing he could be sick or something. Unfortunately she couldn´t feel anything from him. " Alex, what´s wrong with you", putting her hand on his forehead she was relieved when she realized that he hadn´t a fever. Touching his body she tried to feel something from him, which resulted in the fact that he was absolutely healthy, just a little distressed. Suddenly he was gone, disappearing in front of her eyes and without that she could stop it. " Alex! Oh god! Where are you!", glancing at her empty hands she was two seconds away from breaking down, not knowing what to do. But then she noticed that she was the only one able to find her son and she pulled herself together, making up her mind to go outside looking for him. As she was halfway through the room the door was opened forcefully and Dean stood there. " Thank god that you´re here. I need your car".

Dean just stared at her, not even flinching when she threw her arms around him. His usually vivid green eyes were cold and hard. Even his aura had darkened visibly and he was emitting such a cold that it appeared he was taking all the warmth from the space around him. " Where is the small boy".

Maria looked up hearing the strange emotionless voice. Gazing at the person she thougth was her friend, she was stunned when she realized it was his shell but not his mind. Everything that was making him who he was had been stripped away from him. " Gone".

" Where is he?", Dean screamed while he stretched his arm out and blasted the girl hard on the wall behind her. He walked in her direction as soon as he saw her form slumping on the floor and he stopped in front of her. Kneeling down he took her hair and pulled her face up to look in her eyes. " One more time. You´re telling me what I want to know and I let you live"

Maria spit blood in his face, not saying anything to the monster wearing Dean´s face. Besides she didn´t exactly know herself where her son was, so she couldn´t tell him anything at all. But even if she would know the location she wouldn´t say it, having figure out who she was talking to, there was just only one man after Alex and that was Khivar " Like I believe that bullshit. You made it absolutely clear to me that I´m just merely in your way".

Dean knocked her head strong at the wall, glaring at her for daring to spit on him. Wiping the fluid from his face he put both of his hands at her temples, making himself comfortable on the floor. " Fine, I wanted to give you a chance to make it out of here alive. Unfortunately you didn´t give me a choice and now I have to do it the painful way".

" What are you doi.........", the rest of the sentenced was swallowed when Maria felt unbearable stinging in her head and she started to cry loudly, probably alarming everyone around them.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Maria felt like her head wanted to split in two while she was conscious enough to feel everything. Memories were being forced from her mind and she saw picture so old that she couldn´t even remember them. Her father holding her on his arms, glancing at her with adoration. Her mother tickling her until milk was shooting out of her small nose. Alex acting like superman and falling on his butt because he couldn´t fly, making her laugh. Liz and her dancing on the counter in the crashdown, amusing the people eating there. Holding Max while he was crying about his lost love. Isabel lengthening her hair, giving tips to drive men crazy. Michael kissing her after she had ranted and raved at him in the backroom, waiting for some sign from Max and Liz. At this point she stopped giving into Khivar, not wanting to share those memories with him. They were hers and nobody was allowed to take them away from her and especially not some bastard after her son, even if the bastard was in the body of someone she loved. Straining her powers she built walls around her mind, pushing him back in the process before he could see something that she wasn´t willing to show him. She noticed the moment he startled, not expecting her to fight back and then with so much strength, wondering if it was because he was in a human body or if she was simply stronger than he had thought. Pulling away from her he knew that he wasn´t a match for her like this and he wouldn´t get information out of her that way.

" Bitch, you´re not so weak like I thought you would be".

Maria pressed a hand hard on her forehead, trying to make the pain shooting behind her eye lids go away. It was so bad that she thought she might throw up every moment, heaving the chili dogs on the green carpeted floor. But then she heard his words with the familiar voice drifting through the cloud of pain. " Yeah, don´t underestimate us earthlings bastard. Next time try to mess with someone in your league".

Khivar stood up, feeling the person he was holding prisoner in his own shell trying to get the control back. But he couldn´t let that happen, not as long as he hadn´t his answer and not as long as there was still something he had to know. " Honey, you´re far from being an earthling. I sense something dark in you and I know that it´s not alien".

" Great, another person giving me cryptic messages. Can´t you people stop talking in riddles to me?", Maria massaged her temples, feeling the pounding getting weaker and weaker with the motion. She was so sick of the strange sentences she got thrown at her, not knowing what they meant and not being in the mood to get hunting for the truth.

Khivar saw her genuine reaction to his statement and he wondered how much she really knew about herself. He had touched a part of her that was purely evil, bordering on something demonic while the rest of her was disgusting good. She had more in her body then just a few cells from her lover, there was something else, too. Unfortunately he didn´t know what it was. " I think you have hidden something in front of your precious Rath, because I´m sure he wouldn´t have put one finger on you if he had known what you are".

Maria was about to ask what he meant when the door was kicked open and Sam stormed into the room with his gun drawn. He didn´t look exactly pleased to see them, his burning gaze was directed at the person making out to be his brother. " Step away from her and tell me what you´ve done to Dean".

" Fantastic. What is with you humans always travelling in packs?", Khivar was so sick of defending himself against a group of people while he only wanted one person. He had already hated it when he encountered Vilandra and instantly her brother and Rath had been there with her. It was getting more annoying the more it happened.

Sam didn´t waver for a moment, although he was sure he couldn´t kill that thing, fearing he could either lose the only source knowing what happened to his brother or it was a demon possessing the body, which would mean he would kill his sibling. " What have you done to Dean?".

Khivar turned his attention to boy, dismissing him clearly as unimportant and not in the least threatening. Flicking his wrist the small human was flung out of the room and the door was closing tightly behind him. Facing the reason for coming here again, he crouched down. " And you exchanged those nothing for Rath and Zan? You´re not the brightest spot, are you?".

" Shut up! You don´t know a thing about me or why I´m at this place", Maria tried to get back on her feet to give this scumbag something he would never forget. Unfortunately she was still weak after having healed her head. But she knew that she wouldn´t give him the satisfaction of winning this battle, one way or another.

Khivar bent down closer to her, getting into her face and seeing the emotions in the green pools staring back at him. For a moment he lost control and the person inside him wanted to touch her tender skin. But then he pushed the boy away. " I know a lot about you. I´ve been in your head and I saw some interesting things. Things like that you´re clearly attracted to this body I´m possessing right now and you feel guilty because you´re still pining for Rath. You could really fall in love with this human if you would let yourself, but you´re afraid to get hurt again".

Maria shook her head, although knowing that this creature was right. She did have deep feelings for Dean, more than she wanted to admit. But she would never act on them, because for one he wasn´t interested in her like that and two she was still hurting from Michael, which meant there were still feelings involved. " You´re wrong about that. There´s nothing going on between me or Dean".

" Oh, then everything is just in his imagination", Khivar put his face close to the hollow of her shoulder, sniffing her skin before licking it. For a moment it appeared like he wanted to get physical with her. But then he pulled back, staring at her again. " Because he yearns for your soft tight body under him, moaning in ecstasy and letting him ride you until you´re wasted".

Maria felt lust exploding inside her at the picture floating in her mind, realizing that the thought was more than appealling to her. But that didn´t mean anything at all, she was lusting after guys constantly, it didn´t mean she was loving them. " He´s a man, he´s getting hard by watching paint dry and I´m a girl. Sexual attraction isn´t anything unusual on this planet".

Khivar bent closer until he was almost kissing her, feeling her warm sweet breath blowing in his face. He wanted to test her, seeing how much she would be taking before she lost her control. She had already lasted longer than he had thought and that was pleasing him more than he had hoped. " I know, but this shell isn´t just after pleasure or shooting his load. He´s after your heart as well. Too bad that Rath´s shadow is still in his way".

" Don´t talk about things you don´t know nothing about", Maria pushed him away from her, finally finding the strength to get back on her feet. Noticing that her legs were stable she grasped Dean´s shirt and lifted him from the ground with supernatural force and lifted him off of his feet. " You want to fight me, than do it yourself. Don´t hide behind humans".

Khivar was thrown for a moment, not having expected her to do find the gut to stand up against him. But then he smiled down at her, knowing another way he could break her spirit, namely making her kill this shell and watch her suffer from the knowledge to have killed an innocent in the process. " Who´s saying anything about hidding? I´m just using the opportunities and you know what? I will use everyone you love until I know where your son is and then I will kill him painfully slow, letting him feel every injury I will inflict on his sensitive body".

Maria´s eyes turned to a dark green at that, sensing something huge and powerful building inside her wanting to break free. The blood was pumping strongly in her veins, making her forget that she was holding Dean and not some monster. She just saw a threat to her small family and her son. She would do everything to prevent them from getting hurt or possessed, even if that meant to kill her way through every person crossing her way. " You let your dirty hands off of my son. As long as I´m breathing you won´t get near him without me noticing and believe me, you don´t want to mess with me".

" Right, I´m frightened", Khivar knew that it wouldn´t take much more before she would let go of her powers, frying this human without mercy. And he would be gone at the time she would kill him, so the only one she would be hurting would be her companion and not him. " You won´t stop me from torturing your half breed son. I already killed Ava and her bastard without problems, so you won´t be a problem for me at all".

Maria was just in the process to blast him into million little pieces when his expression changed for a second and he mouthed something like kill me to her. She knew that it had been Dean contacting her and all her senses came back to her. Putting the body back on the ground she pulled her hands back from him. " If you think so".

Khivar was surprised about her cool reaction, wondering what happened to her to make her so calm again. Before he however could do anything, something hard hit him on the back of his head and darkness engulfed him.

" Don´t piss me off, Dude", Sam stood over the fallen form of his brother, holding his gun the wrong way around, making it obvious that he had knocked his sibling to the ground with the handle. Turning his eyes to the shaking girl he stepped over the body and embraced her, pressing her tightly at his body. " Did he hurt you?".

Maria shook her head, feeling all of her nerves acting up at the same time. Tears were shooting in her eyes and sobs seemed to wreck her entire being. Now that everything was over she was relieved and worried, because her son was still gone. " No, he wanted to know where Alex is. But he just disappeared and I don´t know where he is. We have to find him".

Sam stroked her head reassuringly, trying to get her to calm down. She had no need to be scared or worried at all. " No we don´t. He´s outside in the Impala, waiting for his mommy to get him".

" What? Wow", Maria was so glad to hear that sentence coming from Sam. One of her problems was already out of the way and she could concentrate on the other one. Pushing herself away from her saviour, she stared down at motionless form lying at their feet. " What should we do with him?".

Sam turned around, eyeing the lifeless body of his brother and hoping that he hadn´t killed him. But he was sure that Dean would want him rather dead than hurting someone he loved, especially Maria. " I´ll take care of him and you´re checking out Alex".

Maria smiled, grateful that he was feeling that she needed to be with her child right now. Squeezing his arm she glanced for the last time at Dean before she ran out of the room, realizing on her way that they had to do something with the broken door. Spying the black car standing in front of the motel she stormed towards it, ripping the driver door almost out of its hinges and took Alex in her arms. " Oh baby. Don´t scare mommy like that again. I almost thought I have lost you", pressing the small boy tightly at herself she was so happy to hear him gurgle at her. Looking at him she saw for the first time his father staring back at her, like the little one wanted to say to her that he was up to no good. " How could you make yourself disappear?", realizing her son reaching for something behind her she turned around and gasped. For a moment there was a person bathed in really bright light vanishing into nothing.

" Hey, can you get the ropes from the back when you´re coming inside?", Sam stretched his head out of the window, his face appearing a little flushed.

Maria needed a moment to notice that someone talked to her, still a little out of it she turned to him with wide eyes and her mouth opened in shock. She had always believed in angels, but she had never seen some. Until now. " Have you seen that?".

Sam gazed at her, clearly not having a clue what she was talking about. Scanning the area around the motel he couldn´t see anything, outside from cars passing on the road and people walking by. Seeing nothing else, he was sure that her mind had just played tricks on her. " No, I haven´t seen anything. Are you feeling okay?".

" Yeah, just imagine things", Maria was sure that it had been something, but maybe the day had caught up with her and made her brain a little mushy. Looking at her son, she saw that he was still staring at the spot where she had witnessed the strange spectacle, which made her realize that it really had happened.

Sam shook his head while he pulled it back inside, noticing that he still had something to do. Kneeling on the ground he turned the body from his brother around, checking if his sibling was still alive. Seeing the chest moving he was relieved to know that he hadn´t killed anyone. Lifting the form up, he sat Dean on the thankful solid looking chair standing by the window. " Man you´ve gotta stop eating this shit. You weight a ton".

Maria choose this moment to step through the partly damaged door, holding Alex in her right arm while a thick rope was dangling from her left hand. Glancing a little amused at the picture both brothers were making, she went towards them. " Don´t let Dean hear you saying that or he will be very pissed at you".

" He heard worse coming from me", Sam took the rope held in his direction and got to work, tying his brother to the chair while keeping an eye on him. The last thing that they needed right now was this thing waking up and start throwing them around.

Maria meanwhile put Alex back in his makeshift bed for a moment and walked back to her companion. On her way there she saw the dent in the wall where her body had connected and she was sure that anyone else would have either been killed from the blast or would have at least been knocked out. Thankfully she wasn´t like that and for the first time she was glad about the fact. " Hey Sam, you need help?".

Sam glanced up from pulling the ropes tight on the legs of his brother. He needed indeed some help, a little busy with his task. Pointing at the black book from his father he wanted to show her what they would need. " Take the journal. There´s a drawing about binding a demon. Paint it on the ground".

" Okay", Maria went to the spot and got the mention object. Looking at the pages she stumbled across the one Sam had been telling about. Unfortunately it just had an effect if it was on the ceiling. Still feeling the tingling from the use of her powers she wondered if she could project this picture on the ceiling. Mesmorizing the painting she stretched her right arm up and concentrated. Imagine how her work should look she strained every last strength she had in her body, feeling something warm flowing through the tips of her fingers. Seconds later the sign to bind a demon was on the ceiling exactly the way it had been in the journal. " Ha. Finally this alien powers do what I want".

Sam stared at her wondering how she could be so joyful after the things happening. But that was probably the reason why his brother was so attracted to her, her ability to going through everything without breaking. She had been through really bad things, which most of the people wouldn´t have beared that long. But she was a fighter and she held on, just to laugh at all the evil. " Hey Pepper Anne, can you take care of the door? I don´t want anyone to see what we´re about to do".

Maria winked at him, almost skipping to the damaged door. She was feeling a little strange after having seen that bright thing, something in the direction of happy and lighter. It was like the incident had given her some of her hope back, however weird it was sounding. " Sure thing boss".

" What has gotten into you?", Sam pushed the chair together with his brother towards the spot where the painting was. Checking if he had choosen the right place he went to his backpack to get his salt, wanting to add more safety in everything and sprinkling it in a circle around Dean.

Maria waved her hand over the broken hinges and put the door back in place, closing it tightly and securing it additionally with her powers before taking her son. She wanted him out of harms way, because she didn´t know if it was Dean they would be encountering or if it was still Khivar. " What do you mean? I´m always like that as soon as the worst is over. Besides I have my little angel with me, everything else will be taking care of itself".

Sam was usually in awe how much she could take in and how much he and his brother were relying onto her to be like she was. They wondered most of the time how they had managed the time on the road without her. " You´re really odd".

" Tell me something new", Maria stuck her tongue at him before carrying her son into the bathroom and sitting him in the bath tube. Making sure that he couldn´t crawl out of it and that he would be comfortable for the time he would be in here, she bent down to his level. " Be a good boy and stay there, until I got you again", kissing his head quick she stepped out of the room again and closed the door tightly behind her. Seeing Dean tied to the chair standing in the middle of the room with a circle of salt around him, she walked towards Sam and joined him in front of their prisoner. " How you wanna do it?".

Sam stared at his brother with his arms crossed over his chest, debatting with himself what he should do now. His sibling would know that and wouldn´t even hesitate to pull through with it. But firstly he wasn´t Dean and secondly the situation was different. " What can we do? If he´s possessed we have to get the demon out of him. If it´s a shapeshifter we have to find out where Dean is".

Maria put a hand on his arm, giving him some of her strength. She knew that it had to be hard for him as the brother. But she was glad to take some of the pressure right off of him in that matter. " It´s no demon. It´s Khivar possessing your brother. The only thing we can do right now to make sure if it´s Dean again is to wake him up".

" All right. Then let´s do it", Sam stepped closer to the tied man and slapped his cheek loudly, which made the head from his brother fall to the side. But didn´t exactly get him awake, which in return brought Sam to slap a little harder with the same result. Just after the third real hard slap something happened.

Dean opened his eyes, his head feeling like it wanted to explode and pain shooting up and down his cheek. Glancing up he saw his brother staring angrily down at him while Maria was a little in the back, chewing on her lower lip. " What is going on? What happened?".

Sam threw a confused gaze over his back at Maria, hoping that she had more experience with possession from aliens, with her being from Roswell and involved with martians. But she seemed to be as clueless as him in that area and not a big help. Turning back to his brother he tried to see something in the other man´s eyes, which was a bust, too. " What are you remembering last?".

" We had been in our old house and we saw Mum again. She went up in flames in front of our eyes and disappeared in the ceiling to save our lifes. And then we drove to the motel to check Maria", Dean squinted his eyes when he noticed that his hands were bound behind the chair and the rope was cutting into his flesh. He wondered what he had done to deserve this treatment. He couldn´t remember exactly anything and that scared him. " After that there´s absolute nothing".

Maria finally came forward, wanting to make sure that it was indeed the person they thought it was and not just someone else pulling a trick on them. Eyeing him closer she tried to find some indication that would tell them that Khivar was still inside the body, which was harder than she hoped it would be. Sighing she knew that they had to do something differently. " Can you remember the kiss we shared?".

Dean glanced at her with a mix of surprise and disappointment. Thinking hard he made an attempt to get that memory back, cursing his mind for letting him forget something so damn great like that. But all the tries didn´t get him nowhere, there wasn´t anything. " No. It´s gone".

" Then I have to help you remember it again", putting her legs on either side of him she slowly sat on his lap and cupped his face with both of her hands, pulling him towards her. Tenderly and a little hesistantly she kissed his soft lips, waiting for a reaction. Closing her eyes she forgot for a moment that they weren´t alone and that they weren´t lovers. But he freaking knew what a woman wanted. Letting her hands trail along his head she was messing his hair a little up before parting from him and standing up. " It´s Dean again. We can untie him now".

Sam stared at her slightly redder lips and he wondered why she had done that to his brother. The show had made even him slightly uncomfortable in his pants and he didn´t see their added member as a sex object. " How do you know that?".

Maria licked her lips, still tasting Dean´s unique scent there and asking herself why she had waited so long to kiss that man. Shaking her head she tried to get her mind out of her gutter and start thinking rational again. She hadn´t kissed him for the fun of it, she just had done it to distract him from the scan she wanted to do. " I looked inside his head and there wasn´t anyone else. Just him and some disturbing fantasies about me and Carmen Electra".

" Hey, you stole my dream", Dean was finally able to form a complete sentence and he was more than just pissed that she just had kissed him to get information. That was way uncool to lead someone on like that. And he couldn´t do anything right now to get rid of his slight problem in his pants.

Maria smiled at him while she patted his head like he was a child, doing everything she could to think about him like a good friend and someone she wanted to jump. She had to finally start looking for somebody who could scratch her itch without expecting more from her, which wouldn´t be so hard to find. " Don´t be such a baby. I had to make sure that you´re really you and not some alien trying to trick us".

Dean glared at her, not finding this situation funny at all. He was tied to a chair, he was so hard that he was close to blow his pants apart and he had no feelings in his legs anymore. That didn´t make him exactly happy. " Yeah, but now that you know I´m just me you could finally take this ropes off of me, these things are cutting my blood circulation off".

" Oh, sorry", Sam went immediately to his brother to get everything off until he would kill the guy. He didn´t want to tell their father that there had been a small accident, well as soon as they would find the man that was. Pulling the ropes away he saw the red welts left on the skin and he felt bad about having been a little too rough.

Maria meanwhile had made her way into the bathroom to look after Alex, who was still sitting in the bath tube glancing around curiously. Bending down besides him she was so stunned about him and his way to know when he had to do at what time. That was probably his father´s side or maybe it was just naturally for him. " Hey, big fellow. You´re such a good boy", wrapping her arms around his soft body she lifted him from his place and put him on her hip. " So now we see how Dean will handle the fact that he had been possessed", walking outside she was amazed about how quickly both brother´s were getting back into her roles. Seeing Sam trying to defend himself for his actions, she knew that she had to interfere before they both would knock themselves out. " Hey guys could you keep your pie holes shut for a moment?".

Dean stopped in his tracks to put his brother down and let his eyes travel to her. Swallowing the nasty reply he wanted to throw at his sibling he remembered that a child was present and he didn´t want to get the little guy to be like him. " Sorry. But I have a right to know what happened, which little Sammy won´t do".

" Khivar has taken over your body to kill Alex", Maria didn´t see anything bad to say it like it is, hating people who were holding a speech before getting to the point. She liked it better to come straight out with whatever she had to say.

Dean´s expression turned serious all of the sudden, the color draining from his face and his eyes glittered afraid. Confronted with his worst nightmare he felt like putting himself away and throw the key in the deepest hole they could find. " Oh god. I didn´t hurt him or you?".

Maria stared at him stonily for a few seconds before her mouth curved into a smile. She was so moved that he thought about them at first and not himself while he should be more worried about the fact that some evil had taken over his body. She wondered if Khivar had been honest about the things he said to her or if he had wanted to distract her. But either way it wouldn´t change anything between them. " No, we´re fine. But what about you?".

" I´m good, I think. I feel a little strange but otherwise fine", Dean had a feeling that he had done something bad, but was too drunk to remember it. He hated to feel that way and he didn´t want to feel that way again in a long time. The only bright spot was that he hadn´t been getting to hurt Alex or Maria and that made him glad that she and the small one weren´t so normal.

Sam was relieved to hear that and it was good to know that nobody had been harmed this time. Well aside from the goose egg his brother had given him when he had been hit with the heavy flash light on the back of his head. But other than that there wasn´t blood anywhere or severed limbs lying around, so it was just an usual day at the office. " That´s a relief", turning to the only female in the room he was curious about one thing. " How can we prevent the same from happening again?".

Maria had already expected that question and she already had thought about a solution for that problem. Now that she knew how she could activate her powers and even knew how much she could do with them, she was sure that she could help in that area. " I´ve built a mental wall around Dean´s brain to hinder from anything getting through. He won´t be used like that, not anymore. I could do the same to you?".

" Does it hurt?", Sam didn´t like the sound of walls in his head and it made him quite uncomfortable to think about something like that in his mind. Shuddering at the image he was making a pro and a contra list. Either he was risking a possession and with that maybe the life of his brother, Maria or Alex or he could let do her magic, take a little pain, but with the knowledge that nothing could get inside him. " Screw that. Do your thing".

Maria thrust her son into Dean´s arms, making sure beforehand that he was even able to hold the small boy. But thankful her worries were with no reason and she could concentrate on working her voodoo on Sam. Stepping close to him she felt like a dwarf, because the guy was three heads taller than her and she couldn´t put her hands on his head. " You have to help me. Can you sit on the chair, I´m not a giant like you".

Sam glanced down at her and he realized that she was right. Taking the place from his brother earlier he sat down and tried to relax, which he did as soon as Maria was standing in front of him and smiled reassuringly at him and he could smell her slightly sweet scent. For a moment he was reminded about the fact that Jess had been wearing parfume like that, too. Thinking about his dead girlfriend let his mind wander to the last minutes of her life, when he came home after he had been hunting with Dean and slumped a little wasted on the bed, just to feel something wet hitting his forehead. He would never forget the moment he saw her panicked face staring back at him from the ceiling, the middle of her torso sliced from side to side, her eyes widened and her mouth opened. Just seconds before everything went up in flames, just like the way his mother had died twenty two years ago.

" So it´s done", Maria had seen more than she had wanted from him, although she had known all about the incident having him lost the girl he loved. But to see it was quite different and she promised herself that she would apply extra attention to him, maybe cuddle him a lot more than she did already. The poor boy had been through so much, he deserved some loving.

Sam was a little confused, having not even felt her hands on his head. Looking at her he saw the concern and the loving in her eyes, knowing immediately that she knew what happened to Jess. He was really grateful that she didn´t give him the pity look everyone else had been giving him. " You´re pretty good. I haven´t noticed anything".

Maria wriggled her fingers in the air while a grin was crawling in her face. She had still to learn a few things concerning her powers, but she knew that she had enough time to discover everything and she was glad to have so good company with her. " Yeah, I´m the best baby".

" Great, now that this is cleared can we get something to eat. Being the puppy from evil makes me hungry", Dean complained from his spot by the window, having kept a glance to the outside while his brother was so intently looking at Maria. He hadn´t liked to see them both so close to each other, even though he knew that it wasn´t sexual or anything like that. But that didn´t mean he had to like it.

Maria chuckled amused, which Sam joined immediately. They both were always so amazed how the other man could get beaten up from monsters, threatened from lunatics or even getting put a gun at his head. But as soon as that was over the guy had to eat. Unbelievable! Maria instantly glanced at both brother´s knowing that it was her turn to buy the food. " Okay, I saw some restaurant down the road selling greasy burgers with fat dripping fries. I´ll get us something".

Dean didn´t exactly feel comfortable with her going outside at night alone. Being in the process to give the small cookie to his brother he saw suddenly a shadow hurrying past the window. Gazing at his two companions he noticed that they had realized the same, seeing as Sam was making his way to this bag to get his gun out of it while Maria was pulling her knife out of her boot. Sneaking quietly towards the bed he put Alex on the mattress, grasping on the floor for his gun. Turning around he was stunned to see Sam and Maria positioned on either side of the door. Nodding at them, he put himself in front of the door before his brother was opening it. " Hold it right there!".

" Yeah, I could say the same to you", the man on the other side had quickly drawn his own gun and pointed it at the boy in front of him. He wasn´t looking like demon, but he wasn´t exactly looking like a normal human being as well. He had green eyes, a slightly unkept beard and dark hair spiked with a few grey spots.

Dean smirked at the intruder, feeling his team at his back their weapon ready to use in their hands. But seconds later a strangled sound was coming from behind him, which made him a little uneasy, which intensived when he saw Maria walking past him, her arm hanging at her side with the knife in her hand, staring at the man like she knew him. " What are you doing, get back!".

Unfortunately she didn´t listen to him, which wasn´t anything unusual. She was never one for following orders. Instead she turned to both brother´s with glistening eyes and some expression they hadn´t seen at her in a long while. " Put the gun´s down".

" why?".

Maria faced the man at the door again, her posture losing the edge she had been having before. Now she looked like she wanted the make herself as small as possible and it was strange to see her like that. " Because he´s my father".

Dun Dun Dun

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**I have to thank tini, the lonly shepherd, raven and fashiongurl3188 for their nice feedback. I hope you all like this chapter as well.**

**Chapter 12**

Maria stared at the man she hadn´t seen in twelve years with mixed feelings, reaching from hate to being happy to confused over disgust back to anger. Still some part of her wanted to throw her arms around him and cry her eyes out, making sure that it was really him. Seconds passed and she hadn´t decided if she should slap him, kick him out and throw the door in his face, embrace him or storm away. She was so torn between her emotions that a few things started to rattle, making obvious that she wasn´t so unemotional like she appeared. She sensed Dean and Sam finally relaxing their fighting stance and glancing at her, trying to wait for a reaction from her to know what they should do.

" Hey honey, are you gonna invite me in or do I have to stand here forever?".

Maria clenched her teeths tightly together to prevent herself from saying something disrespectful in front of her son. Digging her fingernails into her palm she enjoyed the weak pain, making her forgot the pain he had caused her all those years she had waited for him to come and get her. " What are you doing here?".

Jack DeLuca had known that question would arose at that point and he had thought about the many excuses he could tell her. But his daugther had been lied to so much that he was sure that it was better to be honest with her. She deserved that much. " I think it´s time that we´re both talking about a few things and clear the air between us".

" Why should I want that?", Maria snapped angrily, having not been able to keep that sentence from escaping her mouth. Shaking her head she stepped aside to let her father in. Maybe she could finally get all the answers plaquing her all this time and maybe she could find out why her mother had lied to her.

Jack was glad that she seemed more reasonable than Amy had been years ago. Hesitantly he walked into the room, always keeping the two boys in his sight in case they tried to shoot him. He was relieved to know that his daughter was so protected and that she was with people who could give her the protection she needed. " Dean", he nodded at the older one and then turned to the young one. " Sam".

Maria closed the door, keeping herself from slamming it shut like she wanted to do. Breathing deeply in she tried to quell her bad mood, knowing that it could get ugly if she let everything out. Besides she wanted to have answers, answers this man was able to give her. " Okay, spill. I´ve got a really shitty day already and I just want it to be over".

" I think that´s our cue to make a hasty retreat", Sam didn´t want to be in the crossfire from the girl, she was scary enough when she wasn´t angry, he had no desire to see her in a real bad condition. Aside from that they could get something to eat while father and daughter could clear a few things together.

Maria shoot him a look that said she didn´t want to be alone with that man or she would do unthinkable things with him. Unfortunately the look didn´t work with neither of the boys and they kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room, making her wish she would have followed her first instinct and would have thrown the door in her fathers face. Now she had to bite in the sour apple and act like a grown up, although she would have rather acted like a child. Sitting down on the bed and taking her son in her arms she stared at the man she hadn´t seen for a very long time. " So, you wanted to talk. Start talking".

Jack glanced at the small guy on his daughter´s lap and he immediately liked the little boy, even if he wasn´t exactly happy to see that Maria was already a mother and the father wasn´t in the picture right now. Missouri had already told him some details about the visit from the children, so he was prepared for this meeting. But he wasn´t prepared for the hostile greeting. " Can you stop with your childish behaviour? I´m not your enemy, I´m your father!".

" Oh yeah? When have you been my father? Where have you been when Domino died or I had my first broken heart or I got my first driving lesson, hu? Tell me, where have you been?", Maria didn´t want to, but she couldn´t keep her tears in and let them fall from her eyes. Twelve years of pent up emotions were bubbling out of her and now that she had let them out she felt lighter.

Jack knew that she had every right to be angry at him and he had been sure that she would let him feel her anger, she was after all her mother´s daughter and if he knew something about Amy it was the fact that she wasn´t someone to keep her opinion to herself, she had been pretty outspoken. Something his daughter had apparently inherit from Amy. " I know that you think I have left you and your mother because I couldn´t deal with having a family. But that´s not true. I´ve done the best I could for you and your mother, but it had been obviously not enough".

Maria glared at him, wondering if he thought he could win her over with that excuse. But then the words from Missouri flew around her head and she tried to calm down, at least enough to think more rationally. Everyone should have the right to defend themselves and she would give her father that much. " Why did you leave then? What made you abandon your daugther if not for the reason that we hadn´t been enough?".

" Oh honey, that´s not it. You had been even more than I had hoped for, you and your mother. But things happen and bad decisions were made. Even we adults make mistakes. But don´t ever think that you hadn´t been enough or that you have anything to do with me going", although it wasn´t so far from the truth. He had disappeared to hunt the son of a bitch having dared to put a finger on his precious daughter, which he hadn´t liked. He and John Winchester had been after the same demon for almost over 19 years now.

Maria felt some of her darker emotions making a retreat, even though she tried to hold onto them pretty strong. It was hard to let go from something that had been a constant company in her life and she knew that it would probably take longer for her to forgive him. " Is it true what Missouri told me. That mum is the reason why you went away?".

Jack was slightly taken aback from the question, not expecting the palm reader to talk about things that were none of her business. He hadn´t wanted his daughter to ever find that out, still trying to protect his ex wife, something he would surely always do, although he saw her very much in love with Jim Valenti a few weeks ago. " I don´t know how much Missouri had already told you about what happened here in Lawrence".

" She just said that Mary died because of a demon, John told you about the fire and you had been a little overprotective when I was born since then. When I was six months the same demon came again and you chased him away. The next day you packed our things and hailed our asses to Roswell. You and John were after the demon and Mum couldn´t deal with what you did and suggested to keep away from us", she ended with her last breath, amazed about her talent to talk so much in a short period of time, something she had learned from the boys. They could get a whole lot of information out in two seconds flat and she still wondered how they managed that actually.

Jack grunted unamused about the many facts his daughter had and that she had found them out from someone else. He wasn´t exactly comfortable with the knowledge about this demon and he was not in the least happy that she was leading the life he never wanted for his child. " That sums everything up pretty nicely. But what do you still remember?".

Maria thought about the many times he had been coming home, from a hunt as she knew now, with something he had brought for her when he was away. The happy greetings, the hugs and the love. He hadn´t been a bad father, just a bad husband. Everything he had been giving her, he had taken away from her mother, until the love between them was just disappearing. " The fights between Mum and you. The many parent evenings at my school you missed, the many birthdays sitting in front of the window waiting for you to come. The realization that it would never happen and the many tears me and Mum had cried night for night".

" I´m sorry about your pain and if I could take everything back I would do that. But it had been my duty to protect my family, which I did. I had promised your mother to come back as soon as it would be safe again. But the day never came and I´m still searching for this demon", Jack couldn´t stand the thought to cause the two people he loved more than anything any sorrow or made them cry because of him. It had never been his intention to hurt them in any kind, at least not intentionally. He would give his life for his daughter and his ex wife.

Maria shook her head, not wanting to believe these lies. But even in her anger she realized that he was sincere and she was hanging onto something that was over and done with. She had managed to grow up without that man in her life and she had survived it. And still a tiny part of her felt betrayed. " Then why haven´t you even called to let us know that you´re well? Even if you hadn´t wanted to talk to mum, you could have called me. All this years I thought it had been my fault that you disappeared, that I was a bad child or not brave enough or not smart enough. You could have spared me everything with just one call".

Jack saw the tears and he immediately took her in his arms, trying not to squish the little man in their midst. He hated to see her in that condition and then because of him. He had wanted his daughter to live a perfect life, far away from any danger and his family business. Unfortunately they both hadn´t been given a choice in the first place. " Don´t cry. I´m so sorry for everything. I wanted to call you more times I can count. But I didn´t know what I should tell you about why I went away. And as the years passed, I found it harder and harder to pick up the phone to explain some things to you. But don´t think I didn´t love you".

" I missed you so much", Maria wrapped her unoccupied arm around her father and buried her face in his shoulder. For the first time in a long while she felt complete again, like the missing piece of her puzzle was back in its place. And she enjoyed the warmth and the smell hitting her senses.

Jack pressed his face in his daughter´s hair and he tried to prevent himself from crying himself. He had waited such a long time for this moment and he wasn´t disappointed. Squeezing her for a while he pushed her slightly away from him to look at her beautiful face. Something was strange at it, because the last time he had seen her she had been blonde and her eyes were green. " What happened to your hair? And your eyes?".

Maria wiped the tears from her face while she made a fruitless attempt to appear like she hadn´t cried like a child. Giving up, because she couldn´t change it anway, she wondered he meant for a second. But then she remembered that she had changed her appearance. " I wanted to try something new".

" Because you are on the run from some gouverment facility, which is after you and your friends?", Jack had kept up with the route his daughter had taken, following her as much as he could with a little help from his many fellow hunters. It was funny to see all those old men keeping an eye out for his child.

Maria was shocked and very much surprised about that sentence from her father, wondering how he knew what had been going on. Not even her mother knew that and she had been present most of the time. " How, I mean why did you say that?"

Jack saw the mistrust in her glance and he was sure that he had to really think about his next words or she would either run away or threaten him with a weapon he knew the Winchester boys had lying around in this room somewhere. " I´ve kept my ears on the ground and I have people looking after you".

" You have what? You put people to observe me, but you didn´t have time to see for yourself how I was or what I was doing?", Maria stood up from the bed to put as much distance between them as she could before she blew her cover and destroyed something in front of her father´s eyes.

Jack noticed the distressed state of his daughter and he knew that it wouldn´t take too long before the small guy in her arms would pick that up and start crying. He had watched the same happening a few times when Maria had been still a baby. " I was there, a lot of times. But I just didn´t have the gut to approach you".

Maria stopped pacing the length of the room for a moment and stared at her father, having risen from his position and now standing opposite her. His expression was making clear that he believed to tell the truth. " When have you been there?".

" I think you had been ten and you tried to get into the cheerleading squad. Unfortunately you had no talent for synchronized dance, which made you leave the group faster than they could boot you off. Then there was your performance as Juliet when you were thirteen. The day of the shooting, when you put a towel on your best friends bullet wound. Some concert you sang with a band called the whits, prom with the white dress and no date and I think the last time had been christmas when you were deeply in a conversation with that boy you had been hanging around dressed as Santa clause outside your house", Jack could have counted a few more incidents, but he didn´t want to scare her or worse make her more angry, although that seemed to be impossible. Still she was like her mother and that made her pretty unpredictable.

Maria was stunned how much he had seen from her life and how many times he had been in Roswell to look for her. A small part of her was slightly mad about the fact that he had been able to see her while she hadn´t even known he was there. But a huge part was happy that he had cared enough about her to come visit sometimes. " You could have given me a sign that you were there, something that would have given me the chance to get in contact with you. Even if I hadn´t wanted to, you could have at least given me a choice".

Jack grasped her shoulders, careful about the baby and tried to make her calmer. He didn´t want to waste the time he was here with fighting, especially if he had another reason to finally make an appearance in his daughter´s life again. " I know, but we can´t change what happened. I´m here now and Missouri told me that you´ve got a lot of question about a few things".

" Yeah, but let me get freshened up first", Maria was sure to be looking like an idiot right now and she wanted to change her appearance to the girl her father had been expecting. Feeling her son making his presence known she finally registered that she had forgotten to introduce him to his grandfather. " Dad, can you keep an eye on Alex? It will give you time to get to know each other".

Jack was immediately reaching for the small guy in his daughter´s arms, having waited for this moment. He felt happy when the baby didn´t make a fuss or started crying as soon as he was away from his mommy. Smiling down at child, he remembered the time when Maria had been so tiny that she had fitted on his arm. Seeing the light brown eyes staring curiously back at him he finally knew why Missouri had assumed the boy to be Dean´s child. But he knew better, knowing the father from the little man. " Hey Alex, I´m your grandfather and if your mother let´s me you will be seeing a lot more of me in the near future. I will teach you in self defence and handling a weapon".

At that the front door of the room closed with a loud bang, making the older man jump to his feet and trying to protect the child in his arms. Relieved he noted that it was just the brother´s with the food. Dean instantly glowered at Jack. " I´m the one teaching him all that. Maria already agreed".

" Oh sorry, I didn´t want to interfere with that", Jack met the dark glance dead on, not liking the way the young boy was talking to him. He wasn´t some stranger, the small guy in his arms was grandson and he had a right to be in his life. If those boys had a problem with that then, it was their tough luck not his.

Sam rolled his eyes at the macho play deciding this time to keep out of everything. He had been having a real bad day already and all he wanted to do was to eat something before taking a shower and then fall into the nice bed to sleep for two days. " If you want to go at it just say it so I can bring Alex out of here".

Dean put the bag with the italien food on the table, not once letting his gaze wander from the older man. He would play nice for now, but as soon as he noticed that Maria was feeling uncomfortable or was just twitching wrong, he would gladly be the one booting this man out of the door. " Don´t bother. Everything´s fine".

" Guys. Do me a favor and behave nice", Maria stepped out of the bathroom, starting to get annoyed at all the testosterone hanging in the air. She knew that her boys were just trying to protect her in their own twisted way, but in that case they had nothing to worry about.

Dean was just in the process to complain when his eyes landed on her and he forgot for a moment to breath. Almost swallowing his tongue, he let his gaze wander over her. She had changed her appearance and was now looking real hot, well hotter than before. Her hair was straight past her shoulders and blonde while her complexion was a little lighter, which got topped from her clear green eyes and the kissable pink lips. Trying to find his voice again he was surprised to feel his mouth had gotten dry and all he could do was to clear his throat over and over again.

Sam watched amused his brother struggling with forming a complete sentence and failing at it. He was always so stunned when he saw what affect Maria had on his sibling, although she didn´t even try to be sexy or anything like that. She was just like that. " You can shut your cake hole again".

" Ha ha, very funny", Dean felt something that he thought he would never feel again. He felt like a school boy with his first crush. He thought he was passed that stage and usually he was very cool in the presence of beautiful women. But this time it was different, because Maria wasn´t just some conquest on his list, she was the only person he could see a future with.

Jack eyed the older brother with distrust and slight anger, which he had sensed the last time when that alien boy had put the move on his daughter. He intented to keep an eye on Dean for as long as he was there. Turning his attention back to Maria he realized why the young man had been so speechless. " You finally look like the girl your mother showed me a photo from".

Maria was a little confused about the strange behaviour from everyone. But then she let it slide when she heard the last sentence from her father. Immediately her head snapped in his direction. " When did you see Mom?".

" I think it was two or three weeks ago. She lives with Jim Valenti outside a small town in Nebraska. They´re living in some huge ranch house and they´re actually pretty damn adamant that you ran away with your friends", Jack had listened calmly at the stories his ex wife had told him, obviously having being informed about the things happening in Roswell and what really had been going on. He had been pretty much worried about the danger his daughter had been getting put from this boy she had loved and how much bravery she had shown to stand up for the things she believed in. And how much she had given up to protect the people she called her friends, even her own freedom and the life of her unborn son.

Maria was so happy to hear about her mother and that she was still alive, even if that meant she had to accept Jim Valenti as her new step father. She finally knew that everything was alright and that she had to explain a few things as soon as they would meet each other again. " She would. I even wanted to go with them, but I had a slight confrontation with one of this friends and it was decided that I should stay behind".

Dean snorted angrily at that, wondering why she tried to sugar coat that version for her father. These friends had thought her unimportant and had taken the decision out of her hand by just making her feel unwanted. In his opinion that weren´t real friends, but just a bunch of bitches. " Yeah, Michael had forbidden you to come with them, because you were only a human liability".

" Dean!", Maria hissed loudly so that everyone could hear the anger in her voice. She knew that the same sentence had been slipping out of her mouth at one point, but she had been furious with everyone at the time, barely escaping from her prison, losing a good friend in the process and being forced to think about something to do with her life. Now she was sure where her life was heading, Jesse´s dead was still painful but not fresh anymore and she was with people she loved, which meant she had been enough time to think about everything again and she knew that she couldn´t hold anyone for her misery reliable, especially not her friends who had been just as scared that night than she was, maybe even more.

Dean stared at her surprised and slightly pissed for her attack. Hadn´t been she the one cursing that boy and her best friends for weeks? Hadn´t she voiced that she wished they would experience what she had been through for one moment to see what they had done to her? And now she was defending them. " What? I just said what really happened. I wasn´t the one leaving you for the enemy to pick up! I wasn´t the one giving you nightmares that made you afraid to sleep for a long time! And I wasn´t the one inflicting those scars on your body!".

Maria didn´t know why he was always reacting so emotional as soon as she mentioned her friends, especially Michael in general. It was like he was jealous about the fact that she had been with another man before she joined the brothers. Okay, he was thinking about her like a sister, but that didn´t give him the right to treat her like that. " Would you keep your voice down. You´re scaring Alex. And I know all those things. But it´s over and I want to move on. I haven´t forgotten what happened, but I can´t live my life if I stay in the past. I´ll try to forgive, you should do the same".

" Do what you want", Dean glared at her while he took his jacket. It was apparant that he would go outside to take a deep breath of fresh air. " But if I see any of them, they will get a nice bullet from me", opening the door he stepped out and let it slam shut behind him.

Sam glanced worriedly after the retreating back of his brother and then to the stricken looking girl sitting on the bed. He hated when they both forced him to decide between them and make him the bereaved in this game. They either should get it finally over with and sleep with each other or pummel the other senseless. " Ah, I think I will make sure that he doesn´t do anything stupid".

Maria nodded at him, knowing that his loyalty was lying with his brother and she accepted that. Biting her lip to stop herself from crying she watched the other boy leaving the room as well. Turning her attention back to her father, she saw something close to amusement in his eyes. " I´m sorry for him. I don´t know why he reacted like that".

" I know why. He loves you and he can´t stand that you have another man on your mind", Jack had been through that stage when he had been a young boy and his crush had been making eyes at his friend. If he wouldn´t have hooked up John with Mary, Amy would have been the one dead right now.

Maria rolled her eyes while she noticed how cozy her son was snuggled up in the arms of his grandfather and she had to smile at the picture. It was just too cute and she felt happy that her father had taken an instant liking to Alex. " Yeah, he´s taking his big brother act a little to serious for my taste".

Jack shook his head at the naivity of his daughter about men and their more than strange behaviour when love was involved. Dean had the same love struck look he himself had been sporting when he had spotted Amy for the first time. It had nothing to do with sibling feelings, it was even far from it. " Please, don´t tell me you believe that brother garbage. That boy is head over heels in love with you".

" Why is everyone saying that? There isn´t anything besides friendship between us", Maria wasn´t so sure if she wanted to convince herself or her father. Admittedly she was harbouring deep feelings for Dean and she was pretty damn sure that he felt an attraction towards her, which wasn´t so unusual for him. He was drooling after everything female and she was constantly near him, so it was normal that he would think he was in love with her.

Jack knew that he wouldn´t get far with her that way and so he tried to change the topic. Besides he had to catch up on much from his daughter´s life and she was probably full of questions herself. " Okay. If that´s out of the way we can finally come to the part where we´re talking about what we missed in each other´s life".

Maria was content with that suggestion and immediately started to tell him all about the last twelve years. About her first crush Doug Sohn, her first accident with the jetta, the first aqua bra and why she wouldn´t wear that thing when it was cold again, her first boyfriend, her mom´s shop and the things she sold, the strange ufo owner named Brody, her working at the crashdown and the things happening there, about Jim Valenti and the first time she noticed that he was more than just passing by their home. She didn´t leave anything out, well except of course the time in the military base, held prisoner from those FBI goons. Jack was asking a lot of questions and he even knew about the out of this world status from her friends, which made it easier to tell him everything. He even confessed that he and John had been sometimes together in Roswell to look after her and making sure that she wasn´t in too much trouble, which he had to see had been always the case when he came. But it hadn´t been ever like he had to intefere, she had been more than protected most of the time and he had been relieved to see that the Sheriff was watching out for the kids. A few times it had looked like it would be getting to close, but everytime these children had wriggled their way out of every situation. Maria also found out that her father came from a long line of demon hunters, which got just broken through her grandfather who wanted to live a normal life and abandoned his roots as soon as he was old enough to leave his home. Contrary to Jack, he wanted to be like his grandfather and learned all about the hunt. Until he met the love of his life in the form of Amy and although she didn´t seem like some boring person or didn´t make an impression like she was old fashioned, he didn´t want to scare her away with the choice of job. So he started working for the gouverment with people having the sight and together they solved crimes. It had been the perfect job for him, because it meant he could keep his eyes on everything demonic while he appeared to be some simple pencil pusher for his wife. Then Mary died in that fire and the life as he knew it was over, even before John came to tell him everything or Missouri pointed out that evil was brewing in the horizont. He knew that his fate had caught up to him and he took it with open arms, all to protect Amy and later then his daughter. The yellow eyed demon had choosen their kids for something, but even after this huge span of time they hadn´t been able to find out why just them and not someone else, the reason why they were still hunting that thing.

" So that means it wasn´t anything unusual for you to hear about demons and all that creatures from John?", Maria finally realized that Missouri had been right about her statement. It was no accident that made her join this boys just at this time and it scared her, because it meant there was already a plan mapped out for her, something that was bigger than she could imagine right now.

Jack shook his head, knowing that it had to be a lot for her to digest, especially figuring out that that there was more to their family story than it had appeared at the first glance. Strangly she was taking it calmer than he thought, which had probably to do with the fact that she had experienced a lot of weird things with knowing aliens and all that and now with the Winchester. " No, my grandfather told me all about the hunting, showed me everything I would need and he was the one giving me my first gun".

Maria glanced at her sleeping son, deeply snuggled in the chest of her father. The small boy was obviously looking at a life in the family business, which wasn´t exactly a bad thing. But she would make sure that he had other options and maybe he would take a different path. " I think it´s time to get Alex to bed and I need to look after Sam and Dean".

" Oh, before I forget it. Here for you", Jack gave his daughter a small piece of paper with something that looked like a large number on it. He wanted her to have it, so that she couldn´t complain he wasn´t giving her a choice again.

Maria glanced at the paper in her hand and she was touched. It was his cellphone number. Letting her gaze wander a little down she felt tears prickling in her eyes. There was the number of her mother. " Thank you. That means so much to me", embracing her father she felt so happy to have him back in her life and hoped that it wouldn´t take so long for them to see each other again.

Jack smiled a little uncomfortable at her back, knowing that they still had to go a long way before they would be like father and daughter. But they had all the time in the world now, so they didn´t have to start big. " I think it´s time for me to go", standing up he gave the small boy in his arms to his mother. " Call me if you need me or if you still have questions".

" I will do that", she followed the motion of her father and got on her feet, holding Alex tightly in her right arm while she gripped the paper in her left hand, fearing she could lose the only link to her parents with it. " Be careful and don´t wait so long to get in contact with me anymore".

Jack chuckled quietly seeing her mother staring back at him. He was amazed how much he still missed Amy after all those years and the way they had parted. But she had been his first love and maybe it was meant to be to love this person forever. Kissing her forehead and that of his grandson he turned to the door. " Promise and the same applies to you, too. If I hear you get yourself in danger I will come to punish you".

Maria raised an eyebrow at his stern voice, appearing like he couldn´t make her scared. But in the inside she felt giddy to have someone scolding her, even if it wasn´t so effective like the tirades of her mother. " Deal".

" We´re back", Dean stumbled through the door clearly drunk with his brother at his side trying to keep him on his legs. His eyes were glassy and he was slurring the words really bad.

Sam glanced apologistic at the people in the room and immediately pushed his sibling on the couch near the door. Dean would be sleeping there tonight as retribution for the things he had told him at the bar. It had been very apparent that his brother couldn´t contain his jealousy and it had made him put the anger on the wrong person. " I´m sorry for him. We haven´t quite managed to train him into a real human being".

Jack grinned at the sight of the boys, seeing the resembles to their father, especially the oldest. Dean was coming exactly after John while Sam was getting more in the direction of his mother. And yet it was visible that they were brothers. " Sam, can I talk to you outside for a minute. I have to tell you something".

" Yeah, no problem", glancing at his brother to make sure that the guy was comfortable, he followed after the older man. He wasn´t sure what he would find out and part of him hoped it wasn´t something bad.

Maria was slightly confused what they had to talk about and she shook her head as soon as they were outside. Putting her son back in his makeshift bed, she double checked that he couldn´t fall from the bed before she decided to see after Dean, even if he didn´t deserve her care at the moment. Sitting on the edge of the couch he was lying on she eyed him for a few seconds, smiling at the way he was quietly snoring. Touching his cheek she wished she would have met him sooner, before Michael and before the aliens had invaded her life. Maybe then she could be happy with him. Feeling the way he snuggled into her hand in his sleep she wondered if she would ever be ready to be more to him than a friend and if he really had such deep feelings that he was able to wait so long for her.

**At the same time at the other end of town**

Michael felt giddy and excited and ready to move mountains. Ever since he knew about Maria he finally was sure that he was on the right path. He sensed her nearby and he had never felt so much joy at something so small. The only downside was that he had to wait for Kyle and Max to come back from their investigation while he had to watch over the girls. Isabel was still a little weak after she had been possessed from this guy. But the good thing was that she had been able to get into his mind and find out what he knew about Maria and her whereabouts and what she had to do with anything. And now Michael was minutes away from seeing his family again. His heart was pounding hard against his ribcage, his hands were shaking and his mouth was dry as the sahara. He was pacing the small hotel room, trying to keep his emotions in check. Isabel was sleeping on the bed and Liz was reading a newspaper, more than obvious to his nervous state.

" Would you do me a favour and sit down on your ass!".

Michael was startled from the cursing coming from perfect Parker uhm Evans, a little taken aback that she was using words outside her SAT vocabulary. But she had lasted longer than he had expected. " I can´t sit down when I know I´m so close to be with Maria and my son, seeing them for the first time in months".

Liz understood his feelings and she was excited about this meeting as much as anyone else, the reason why she tried to distract herself with reading the news. The only thing indicating that she was also nervous was the light tapping from her feet on the floor. " Yeah it´s strange to know that we will see each other again today after all this time. I just hope she want´s to see us".

" She wants, even if it´s just to rip my head off", which he was sure would happen as soon as she would lay her eyes on his form. Except of course she was so pissed at him that she ignored his existence, turned around or slapped him before disappearing. But he was hoping that she was raving and ranting at him like he was used from her.

Liz smiled, knowing that it was a possibility with her best friend, well if she could still call the other girl that. She felt really bad for not jumping in for Maria, but at the time she thought it had been a good idea, which she regretted now. If she would have known what happened after they went away, she would have reacted differently. " I hope she´s better. I hate not knowing how she is".

Michael was just in the process to agree to that statement when the door to their room opened and the missing members of their group came in. According to their expression they didn´t have good news. " What did you find out?".

" She´s not here anymore", Max had to look away when the lie left his lips, feeling guilty for crushing his brothers hopes. But he and Kyle had decided, after a loud fight for an hour, that it was better for Michael to not know the truth. They had found Maria in a hotel room. Unfortunately she hadn´t been alone, there had been a man she had glanced at with so much love that it had made them realize that she had shed her old life like a bad habit.

Michael immediately picked up that his friend wasn´t honest with him. Gazing at Kyle he saw the other guy averting his eyes as well. There was something fishy going on and he wanted to know why they thought it was better to lie to him. " And why can I feel her then? She´s near and don´t try to tell me I´m imagine things".

Max exchanged an accusing glance with Kyle, telling the guy with his eyes that it had been a real stupid idea and that he could have said from the start that their plan would fail. Sighing, he noticed from the corner of his eyes that his wife was paying close attention to him, the newspaper lying forgotten on the table. " It doesn´t matter, she´s not the girl we left behind anymore".

" It matters to me, even if she has changed. I just want to see her and my son for one moment to make sure that they´re both all right", Michael had a bad feeling, realizing that maybe the thing in Isabel had been right and she had moved on with another man. But even if that should be the case, he wanted to see that for himself so that he would believe it and could start to live his own life.

Kyle relented this time, witnessing something that he thought would be impossible, the unbreakable Guerin was fighting with tears. Having pity with his friend he turned to Max and stretched his hand in the direction of their leader. " Give me the key´s. I´ll bring him to the motel".

Max wasn´t sure if it was the smartest thing to do, considering Michael and his way with dealing with pain. The last time the other boy had watched Maria with another man a few cars were missing their windows and they had to keep a low profile right now. But then he saw the and he pushed the key´s in Kyle´s hands without a word.

" We´ll be back soon and then we´re thinking about a new plan", Kyle knew that his friend would want to be as far from here as he could when he saw the mother of his child be all giggling and throwing lovingly glancing at another man. Not that anyone could blame Maria for trying to live a new life with normal people. But they all were sure that it would be really hard for Michael to see some man not him taking care of his woman and his son.

The two boys were just in the process to make their way out the door when a knock rang around the room. Confused everyone, outside from Isabel who was still sleeping soundlessly, stared at each other, wondering who would be standing in front of the door. For a few seconds it seemed like no one dared to move, wanting to appear like nobody was in the room. Unfortunately the lights were on and so Max was the only one brave enough to step closer to the entrance. " Yeah! Who´s there".

A small break was heard on the other side and something that sounded like a quiet whispering. And then there came three letters all the occupants in the room feared. " FBI".

Everybody in the room lost their color for a moment, their shock visible etched on their scared faces. Liz even started shaking, which was heard because she had picked up the newspaper at some point and it was rustling. Kyle had stopped breathing all together afraid they could identify him just from the sound of his breathing. Michael was terrified but ready to blast someone if it should come to that while Max was afraid his friend would blow their cover. They were all looking differently and they had other identities now, so they had nothing to fear from this Agents. Glancing at everyone and telling them with his eyes that they should stay calm he opened the door. " Can you show us some ID?".

" Of course", both men, looking like walking cupboards in their black suits, pulled their wallets out of their pockets and pushed their badges forward, showing the teens that their were indeed from the goverment.

Max repressed his instinct to flee and tried to appear unaffected from those agents. Smiling a little shaky at the men he leant cool against the doorframe hiding the fear deep inside himself, although he was two seconds away to wet his pants. " What can we do for you?".

The smaller one with the dark slicked back hair was eyeing the young man with a touch of suspicion and indifference. Then his gaze wandered to the group standing around the room before he declared them unimportant. " We´re looking for a group of fugitives", fetching a piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket he showed them a picture from the people they were searching for. It was one from the troop from Roswell just without Jesse and Maria. " That are the people. Have you seen them?".

" No, can´t say that I have", shaking his head Max turned around to the others and motioned them closer. After a minute where everyone had taken a good glance at the picture and they denied the fact that they knew these people, they all waited if those men had swallowed their lie.

The tall Agent with the light brown hair studied them closer and watched if anyone would twitch or make some indication that everything they said was in fact really the truth. The time ticked away and the silence stretched longer, filling the room with tension. " Okay, thank you for your help".

Max breathed out relieved inwardly and he felt the heavy burden on his shoulder dropping off of him. Forcing a small smile at the two men, he was glad to see them leaving. Closing the door tightly as soon as they were out of sight he slumped against the wood, wiping imagined sweat from his forehead. " Oh shit, I think I´m gonna puke".

" That had been a close call. What is the FBI doing here?", Kyle had to sit down because his legs felt like jello. His heart was still pounding hard under his skin like it wanted to break out from its prison inside him and he couldn´t stop his hands from shaking. He was sure he aged ten years within seconds.

Liz stood up from her spot at the table and walked towards her husband, having the urge to be near him. She knew what was coming next and she wasn´t exactly happy about it, even though she was aware that it was best for them. " Max we have to go right now".

Max stared at his wife and he knew she was right. Putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close, he let his gaze wander around the room. Kyle was already in the process to wake Isabel, who had slept all through the incident and it was apparent that they both would be with them. Contrary to the sad man standing a little aside from everyone. " I´m sorry Michael. Liz is right, we can´t stay here".

" I know, but we can´t just leave without giving Maria a heads up, they´re not only after us", Michael wouldn´t disappear this time before he made sure that she was protected. He wouldn´t make the same mistake again and get her in danger because of his heritage.

Max shoot his wife a look and she immediately went away to help Isabel and Kyle while he stepped to his brother. He just hoped that it wouldn´t end in an argument like it always did with them. " She´s dead, at least according to the article in the newspaper and these agents don´t have a connection with her, so they think she´s out of the picture. We thought she was dead, too. And I have to say the guy´s she´s with are more protection than she needs. Aside from the knowledge that she´s smart enough to take care of herself".

Michael hated him in that moment, because everything was the truth. Maria was the only one he would trust to wriggle her way out of every situation, remembering that she had been the one with the idea to look in the garbage can in the hotel room at their first investigation together or her concern that Topolski might not be who she was making out to be. But that didn´t mean he wouldn´t worry about her. " I just want to see her and my son. I don´t know when I will get the chance to be so close to them again".

" Okay, I think we can get a small break in on our way out of town", Max had pity with his friend, knowing exactly how it felt to have his soulmate out of his sight and knowing how it was the know that his son was out there and he was helpless to do anything.

Michael was a little surprised about that. He had expected that he would hear something about the safety of everyone and that they wouldn´t have time for a stop. But then he remembered that out of all the people in this room, Max was only one knowing how he really felt. " Thanks man".

At that Kyle, Isabel and Liz joined the two men, who had finally reached some sort of understanding. Together the group got their luggage and made their way to their cars, all the while trying not to appear hurried or scared. Not one of them noticed the two Agents standing in the shadows and watching with smiles on their faces after the teens, their eyes so black like their souls.

**Other side of town**

Michael was standing in front of the window his friends said his Maria was sleeping in with those other boys. Unfortunately he couldn´t see inside because the curtains were closed and there was no light. Glancing back at the two cars and seeing everyone trying to appear like they hadn´t watched him, he made a decision. Turning back to the window he used his powers to open it quietly. Drawing the curtains aside he finally saw his first glimpse of his son, lying in one of the beds with pillows around him and making him almost disappear completely. Smiling at the beautiful boy he had the urge to climb in the room and take his son up in his arms to cuddle him. But that notion stopped as soon as he noticed something moving at the corner of his eyes. Gazing at his right he found Maria, snuggled tightly at a male body. They both looked too cozy for his taste and he realized why Kyle and Max hadn´t wanted him to see that. Swallowing his instinct to kill the guy and kidnap her, he clenched his teeth. In that moment something died inside him and he was sure that he would never open his heart towards another woman again. Repressing a sob he heard a car approaching. Scared someone could witness him in that position he pulled the curtain back at their place, closed the window and welded it shut before walking to the Mustang and getting in. Quietly the two cars drove away in the night.

Seconds later the curtains in the room were pulled apart and Maria glanced outside, having felt some familiar pull and it had felt good. Opening the window she saw the handprint burned into the frame and she knew who it was. Touching the spot she stretched her head outside to see if he was still somewhere. Quickly she realized that no one was there and she got inside again, smiling at the thought that Michael hadn´t lost his stalker act. But then she started to wonder why he hadn´t approached her or woke her up to let her know that he was there. Glancing back at the bed she had been sleeping in, she was sure she knew the reason. Although Michael had nothing to fear with Sam. Yawning loudly she shook her head, deciding to try to find out what everything meant in the morning, when she had gotten a good nights sleep and was more coherent. With that thought she went back to bed, pressing her freezing body close to Sam, her human hotty.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, I´m finally back with a new chapter. Had been taking a little longer than expected, but with christmas and new year in between it´s the fastest I could manage this chapter. ****A few questions will be unanswered, such as what Dean told Sam or Jack told Sam. But that will be explained in another chapter I swear.**

**The lonly sheperd, raven, BloodyAngelic and Rlefay, I want to thank you for the nice words. And to a few of you, I put some good stuff in this chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 13**

Maria sat in a small cafe in Chigaco with Alex in the high chair besides her, staring out of the big window pointing out to the busy street, which she had done for the last two hours now. She had ordered one glass of iced tea after another and she had been more on the toilet than at her place. Once in a while her son was making himself noticable, playing with the small black car Dean had gotten him a month ago. Unfortunately Alex didn´t seem to grasp the concept of pushing the vehicle on the surface of an object, instead he was hitting it happily on the nice table, making a few people around them glare at the boy before sending her a disgusting glance. But she didn´t care about them or that her son was a little more active than other kids his age. No she was too busy with keeping the building opposite her position in her sight, having promised Sam to stay awhile away from his brother, because he wasn´t in a good mood. Maria snorted when she remembered the last four months with Dean after her father had made an appearance and was now a steady presence in her life again. He was nasty, moody and unbearable to have around, even Alex had noticed that the guy was more on edge since that night. She didn´t know what had made him that way, knowing it couldn´t be that she had contact with her father again. She was even absolute sure that it wasn´t about the fact that some alien had taken over his body and threatened her and Alex. There was something else going on and she wasn´t counting the strange incident with the burned hand print at the frame from Michael, because she hadn´t Dean told about that. She had been close to leave the boys a few times and if it wouldn´t have been for Sam she would have went through with it. Actually her father had been so kind to listen to her complaints and told her that she should stick with them, they needed her, even if it didn´t look that way with some of her travelling partners. Glancing at her son she smiled at the way he was holding his car towards her, trying to lighten her up. That was another strange thing, Alex usually felt when she was emotional and he reacted immediately on it, either with trying to cheer her up, starting to scream to warn her or even snuggling with her when she was crying. He was such a great kid and she was sad that his father wasn´t there to see what they had created. Since the night she had found the hand print, she was curious about why he hadn´t made his presence known to her, outside from burning his hand into wood. She was afraid he had moved on, thinking that he could have misinterpretend what he had seen and being angry at her for that. Four months ago she had tried to get in contact with him, using her slighlty uncontrollable powers to dreamwalk him. Unfortunately she wasn´t able to enter his mind like she wanted, probably because she wasn´t Izzy and didn´t have that ability. She had tried it a few times after that, with the same result until the connection she had shared with Michael just broke all of the sudden, making her cry out in pain. It had been like something had been ripped away from her and she had needed a moment to realize that she hadn´t been attacked. Sam and Dean had been immediately at her side, checking her for any injuries and making sure that nothing had been trying to hurt her. As soon as they noticed that nothing was wrong with her, they asked what had happened and if she was all right. After her inside stopped turning and her vision was clear again she told them in small details what had been going on, which had made Dean leave the room in a hurry while Sam and her were confused staring after his retreating back. Everytime she remembered something from her past and told her company about it, he was reacting like a jerk and she didn´t understand what made him that way, he wasn´t even talking to her what was bothering him. She wasn´t sure if Sam knew something, because his brother wasn´t the most talkative person on this planet and he was rather shutting everyone out than telling anyone that something was wrong with him. Detecting that she had been running off the track with her thoughts again, she turned her attention back to the old red brick house from the other side of the street. Instantly her heart skipped a beat when she saw a familiar person stepping down the small steps onto the sidewalk with what looked like some blonde bimbo holding his hand. Slapping a twenty dollar bill on the table counter she took Alex and made a hasty retreat into the warm sun outside. Hefting her son securly on her hips she quickly followed the couple in a safe distance, being careful not to lose them from her sight and yet able to keep an eye on the people around her. Swiftly she was making a good headway with nobody realizing that she was stalking someone. Unfortunately Alex was so excited that he lost his car and he started to tell his mommy loudly about it. Torn between her urge to continue her hunt and making her son happy, she cursed inwardly when she stopped and went back to look for the damn vehicle. Seeing it lying almost close to the street she bent down to lift the darn thing up and giving it to her son, who happily gurggled at having his beloved toy back. Turning around she sighed when she found out that the object of her chase was gone and she had absolute no clue where he could be.

" Well buddy seems like we´re done early. What do you say about looking after the boys and making sure that they´re not in trouble?".

Alex ignored her, having something better to do than listening to his mother telling him things he didn´t understand yet. Following the black small thing in his hand with his eyes, he suddenly stopped and stared at something.

Maria was a little confused about the behaviour of her son, but soon saw the reason for that, namely the moment she tried to walk back to their motel and collided with something solid that wasn´t moving out of her way. Looking up at the someone blocking her path she almost swallowed her tongue when she identified the person. After a year she was finally eye to eye with Michael again.

" Who are you and why are you following me?", he was obviously more than just pissed and his usual amber eyes had taken a turn into black, making him appear threatenly. Crossing his arms over his chest he made clear that he wouldn´t accept any bullshit.

Maria was so shocked that no word was coming out of her mouth. She had imagined this moment for so long and now she was staring at him like some dumb groupie standing in front of her favourite actor. Searching for something to say, she realized something that she had missed the first time. There was a thing that was totally off with him, that seemed to be not right. Eying him closer she finally found out why she was feeling that way. It wasn´t Michael, but his loser dupe Rath. " Are you mental? Why should I be following you?".

Rath glared at her, knowing that she had been sniffing after him since this afternoon. At first he thought it was his paranoid instincts kicking in, because she didn´t exactly look like some spy or from the cops. But now he was more than sure that she was snooping and the kid was probably just a cover for her. " I don´t know, you tell me?".

" I don´t know what weed your smoking, but I´m just on my way home to my husband", Maria had pondered for just a tiny second if she should give him the heads up about the feds after his ass and that if he wanted to survive he should either keep in the shadows or try some make over, but after he acted so much like her Michael would have done she decided against it.

Rath regarded the woman closer and something was rubbing him off the wrong way with her. He didn´t know what it was, but something at her was familiar, probably a girl he had been using for one night and then forgot her as soon as he was finished. Noticing the green eyes he remembered that he just knew one person with that color, but she had been blonde and her lips had been bigger, making him horny just by looking at them, even if he knew that she had been his dupes bitch. " Ah your Mary, my uglier halfs hot momma".

Maria was partly disgusted at the way he was eyeing her and partly flattered that he remembered her, even if he hadn´t exactly mesmorized her name. But he could have called her some other name, Mary was at least close to Maria so she could see over that small faux pas. " I´m not anyones hot momma and my name is not Mary. And Michael is not ugly".

" I´m right your that blonde chick from Roswell the british dude was panting after", Rath had to admit he liked blondes more, but she looked better with the darker hair and especially with the curls, it was making her appear more mature and a lot hotter. Running his gaze over the rest of her body he was pleased to see that she wasn´t as skinny as she had been the last time he had seen her, her hips were a little wider and her bosom was more and it appeared like she had been exercising.

Maria rolled her eyes, finding it not so hard to believe that he and spaceboy were from the same genes. She didn´t know why he and Michael had been so distrustful with Brody, who had been a really nice guy and sometimes she even missed his lovable character. " Would you stop with mentally undressing me so I can be on my way again!".

Rath smiled at her, knowing that he wouldn´t let her go so soon and without having tasted her. She was too delicious looking and he had to know how she would feel all naked under him, screaming his name while her orgasm was pushing her higher and higher. " Sorry, I´m a man and you´re one fine package. I can´t let you go".

" I have to disappoint you, I´m not interested", Maria found it unbelievable that he was hitting on her while she held her son on her arm, making it very apparent that she was not in the least in the mood to play the lust object. For gods sake she didn´t even have any make up on, her hair had been dishevelled from the small breeze and her clothes was covering more than it was showing.

Rath moved closer to her, feeling the heat of her body and he knew that she wasn´t so indifferent to him like she pretended. Even though she was fighting him, her hormones were pulling towards him. He was sure that it was because he looked like his dupe and the chick was lusting for her lover. " Are you sure about that?".

Maria had to admit that she was slightly turned on from him and that part of her was yearning to be close to him. But she knew he wasn´t Michael and it wouldn´t be right. Besides she had Alex to consider. " Yes absolutely sure. Now excuse me, someone is expecting me".

" You´re breaking my heart, Maria", smirking at her, he made it obvious that he had been well aware of who she had been the whole time and that he had known her real name, just wanting to test her. And now that he had found out that she easily passed, his arm shoot out and he grasped her hair, pulling her face to him and laying a real wet kiss on her.

Maria was thrown for a moment, having not expected him to do that and enjoying the familiar feeling for awhile. But then she pushed him away from her, feeling flushed and more than just ready to jump his bones. If not for the movement of Alex she would have done it. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she saw his smirking face and cursed his existence. Rubbing her face to get the heating of her cheeks away, she was two seconds away from smacking herself. " I can´t believe you just did that! What part of I´m not interested haven´t you understood? God, you men are all the same, just caring to shoot your load at the nearest female you can find".

Rath amused expression intensified when he saw her eyes darkening and her body language speaking volumes. He didn´t know what she was talking about, not having hear a word leaving her mouth, having been too busy to watch her lips move, but her aura was making that unecessary. " Oh come on, you loved it".

" I wouldn´t be so sure about that", stepping around him she was determined to walk away from him and put this experience behind her. But unfortunately her conscious came into play and her caring nature was emerging. She couldn´t just storm away from Rath without letting him know what was going on, although she guessed he had already heard about the incident with the FBI trailing after her friend and he had tried to kill one of her best friends. " A good advise. Change your appearance, the Feds could be everywhere and they´re chasing extraterrestrial".

Rath was tempted to follow her and prevent her from getting away. But after she had uttered that sentence he was taken aback. She was giving him an advise about staying undercover? For one small moment he was close to tell her that he was a master when it came to go undetected, but the notion left as quickly as it came when he saw that she was just caring about his survival, which he found very odd. Nobody ever cared what happened to him and until now he had been satisfied with that. Smiling earnestly for the first time in his life, he promised that he would do the same for her one day, too. " Yeah, thanks for the heads up. Be careful".

Now it was Maria´s turn to be surprised, clearly not used to this side of him, especially considering he had been one of the people having tried to kill Max two years ago. But maybe that had been just the influence from this Vilandra bitch he had been hanging around, who seemed to be missing from the picture because the girl from earlier had been younger and prettier. Smiling at him she waited until he was walking away before deciding to look for the boys. Turning around she crashed at something solid again and she cursed herself for getting so distracted and clumsy. Looking up she was a little stunned to see the slight heated gaze from Dean staring back at her. " Hey, we had been just on way back. Did you find anything out about the apartement from the girl?".

" Who was that?", Dean ignored her question, the case they had been working on immediately forgotten when he glimpsed at the guy putting the move on her. It had looked pretty cozy from their spot, too cozy for his taste and he didn´t like someone else being so close to her without him knowing who it was, in case the someone could be dangerous.

Maria knew that they were heading towards a fight in public and with so much people around them. But she had no desire to get thrown in jail because she was beating the crap out of him if he started to act like the first a class jerk he was impersonating this last months. Feeling Alex getting lifted from her embrace she noticed that Sam had sensed her intention and was now putting a nice safe distance between them. " Some guy, nobody important".

Dean hated her in that instant, detecting the lie miles away and he didn´t like to get lied at. He was sure that it hadn´t been just some random dude, seeing as he had laid a really intense smack on her. He had needed all his restraints and a little help from his brother to not storm out of the car and put a nice bullet in the dudes body. " So you let just everyone kiss you like that?".

" You were spying on me? What is wrong with you?", Maria was so sick that he was treating her like some dumb girl needing protection from the bad men walking around. She was more capable of kicking ass like he gave her credit for and she wasn´t even talking about using her alien powers to do that.

Dean was confused about her outburst, wondering what had gotten into her to act like that. He had every right to look out for people he cared deeply for. He would have done the same with his brother, even if he had to admit that he wouldn´t be so angry. " I just want to keep you safe! And besides we wanted to give you a little privacy before approaching. Sorry if we were stepping on your toes!".

Maria threw her arms in the air, groaning so loud that people looked at her funny. But she didn´t care because she was so damn furious that she didn´t notice the strange glances thrown her way and even if she would realize it she wouldn´t let that bother her that much. " You know what, I´m so sick of fighting with you about things you´re making such a big deal out of and I have no clue why. But from this instant on you either tell me what nasty bug had crawled up your ass and died there or you start acting like a normal being again!".

" I just don´t want to keep you safe, nothing is wrong with that", Dean cursed himself for getting hard from her flashing eyes and her heaving chest, even from the way she was spitting nails at him was arousing him. He needed to let out some of his tension or he would explode one day.

Maria felt like she was trapped into some strange loop where she was in the same position, just with someone else at Dean´s place. At this spot was Michael screaming the same words at her, which pushed her deeper into her anger and in return made her lash out at him. Usually that fight had ended with them tightly interwined with each other in bed, of course naked. " Urrggghhh. You need to get laid. Badly".

Dean knew that one himself, feeling all his blood pooling in his downstairs brain and leaving nothing for his upstairs brown anymore. He was walking around with a boner most of the day and that for almost half a year. Not even the small encounter with Cassie, his ex girlfriend who had needed his help with a supernatural case, had been satisfying him. " You offering?".

" You wish, jerk", Maria had enough from those men for today and she hoped that someday she would either get used to the testesterone making all male creature act like apes or that she found someone not getting led around with his dick, which she thought was more than unlikely.

Dean followed her back to the car where his brother and Alex were already seated, staring at them like they had been dancing the macarena in the nude. He wasn´t finished with Maria and he would be damned if he would let her walk away from this, whatever the hell this was. " Don´t you dare to let me stand there like an idiot".

Maria whirled around angrily, her dark curls bouncing in her face while her eyes were shooting daggers at him. Storming towards him she was more than ready to rip him apart piece by piece. Stopping in front of him she was tempted to grasp his collar and shake him until he was the man she had met in the beginning again. " I don´t know what your problem is right now and I don´t care. But you´re impossible to be around and if not for Sam and my father I would have already left you. So I suggest you either deal with whatever is bothering you or you swallow your nasty persona for as long as people are around".

" If it would be so easy I would have done that by now, don´t you think?", Dean knew what was bothering him and he even knew how he had to deal with it. The only problem was that he couldn´t do that without revealing his true feelings in front of her and he was aware that she didn´t share the same feelings for him like he did for her, which he had to accept. Until then he was trying to be the most annoying person on this planet.

Maria glanced up at him, seeing the struggle in his eyes and her heart went out to him. Unfortunately she had a soft spot for the lost and abused souls trying to find their places in this world. She could beat herself for getting so mushy as soon as she saw a man trying to hide his vulnerability from everyone. Cupping his face she knew that she would be there for him as good as she could and as much as he let her. " Then let me help you. You know I´m always here for you, no matter what. Just tell me what is going on with you".

Dean had the urge to lean down to kiss her like the way he usually did in his dreams, but he was sure that she wouldn´t be too happy about that and she would probably slap him senseless if he tried to get closer to her. Unfortunately she wasn´t making it easy for him to think clearly with her tender way to touch him. " I can´t. You wouldn´t understand it anyway".

" Why don´t you give me a chance to decide that for myself?".

Dean realized that if she kept up the caressing of his skin he couldn´t held responsible for the things he would do. She was pure temptation and he was sure that it was some kind of assignment for him to resist her, what other explanation could there be? Shaking his head and releasing her hold on him, he walked to the car. " We don´t have time. There´s still a case to solve".

Maria knew when it was time to let go and that was one of those moments, so she went into the Impala without saying something. She was sure that it wouldn´t get her anywhere anyhow, he was one of the most stubborn people she had met and she knew a lot of them. Sitting on the backseat she occupied herself with checking her son while Dean was jumping behind the wheel.

**Night time Motel**

Maria was looking in the Internet about the symbol Dean had found in the apartement of Meredith, the girl who had died mysteriously in her own four walls without anyone noticing anything. But she couldn´t find anything there, either in their usual paranormal sites nor in the old mystic corner they frequently were searching through. The journal from John hadn´t been any help either and she was getting frustrated. Dean and Sam were trying to dig up information in the bar Meredith had worked before she was killed and maybe find out what could have been the reason for her to die. Rubbing her tired eyes, Maria clapped the laptop shut and stood up from the uncomfortable chair. Seeing Alex sleeping deeply in his crib she had been creating with her powers, she went outside to get some fresh air. As soon as she stepped out the door the smell of smoke, alcohol and sweat was drifting to her nose. Glancing at the small bar across the street she was sure the boys were having a lot of fun in there. They were always saying they were professional, but as soon as they were in bar the first thing they did was ordering some beer and checking out the ladies around, well actually just Dean had done that. Strangly he had stopped doing that and except for the few days with Cassie, he hadn´t been with a woman in quite some time. Probably the reason for his grumpy nature and she hoped that he was picking up company for a night so that he could let a little tension out. Thinking about him with another woman in his arm she felt a stabbing in her heart and anger crawling up her inside. Startled she realized that she didn´t want to share him with some bitch that couldn´t even spell her own name or with some other woman in general. Unfortunately as soon as she was thinking about other men her guilt was kicking in. She couldn´t let go of Michael, even though she knew that they would probably never see each other again and she was sure that after he saw her with Sam he didn´t want to see her anyway. But there was still a part trying to reach him, to explain to him what he saw and that nobody could ever replace him in her heart, although she was having deep feelings for Dean, too. Hearing the loud music penetrating her ears she came back from the clouds and concentrated on her surroundings. Putting her hands in the back pockets of her jeans she was surprised to grasp a piece of paper. Pulling it out she was reminded that she was in the possession of her mother´s number for four months now and she hadn´t been having the guts to call. She didn´t know what she could tell her mother, because she was sure that some story about her having lost her memory and walking around the states wouldn´t cover that. Amy Deluca was smarter than that and she knew her daughter better than anyone. Someday, she hoped that at least, she would find the courage to pick up the phone and get in contact with her mother to tell her that she was fine and no way in any danger. But until then she had to endure the lectures from her father who was appealing to her conscious to get her mother out of worrying about her daughter.

" Ya know that it´s dangerous for such a beautiful bitch to be alone at night in this area".

Maria jumped at the deep voice behind her, lifting both of her hands to punch the hell out of anyone daring to approach her. Since she knew that her destiny was in demon hunting she had been exercising more and now she was able to kill anyone without using her powers. It was good to not feel defenceless anymore, even if her powers should acting up at one point. Dropping her stance she had the urge to beat the guy for scaring her like that. " Dammit Rath! Can´t you make yourself noticable with some signal before you appear?".

Rath smiled at her, having enjoyed the movement of her breasts when she jumped around. She had one fine rack to offer and it would be a shame to waste such a sight. It was already bad enough that she hid the twins behind so much clothes, even if he had to admit the way the fabric clung to her body was almost worth to let it slide that she covered so much. " Yo, what ya want from me? I´s thought you would sense my presence and I´s didn´t have to give you some warning".

" As you maybe noticed I had been deep in thoughts, so excuse me if I hadn´t been so attentive like I should have", Maria rolled her eyes before she bent down to pick up the piece of paper with the number from her mother, which she had dropped when she startled. Grasping the paper she stood up again and immediately felt some hot breath hitting the back of her neck. " What are you doing?".

Rath hadn´t been able to resist the temptation when she stretched her ample asset into his direction and his body instantly reacted to her. He couldn´t control himself any longer and he was sure that she wasn´t so unaffected from him like she pretended to be. Besides since he had crashed against her he couldn´t get her out of his head, needing to have her. " I´s want to be inside ya, all the way and without any hesistation. I want to feel ya break over and over again in my arms, screaming my name in prayers and cursing my unsatiable hunger for more"

Maria felt his hands wandering under the light sweater she was wearing, trailing a soft line on her skin and making her shudder from pleasure. She had to give him credit, he really knew how to touch the right places and as much as she didn´t want, the images he created were making her ache so hard that she close to shut her mind off and give herself to him. But there was still some part resisting. " I can´t. I don´t really know you and you tried to kill one of my best friends".

" Ya know me, better than anyone. You´s dupe and me were the same, although I´m clearly more attractive", Rath pushed her backside into his groin letting her feel what she was doing to him. He liked the way her breathing was raspy and unregular, the repressed moans making him harder. " And the thing with Maxie boy hadn´t been my idea, I´s don´t care about the ex king so much. The only thing meaning something to me is getting into you´s pants".

Maria chuckled quietly, having heard that sentence before from Michael and mixed with the familiar voice it was making her inside melt. Turning around she didn´t try to fight her desire any longer. Gripping his unruly hair she pulled his face down and kissed him with a hunger that she had been missing since she was a mother, letting her forget that she had a responsibility to her son. But for this one moment she wanted to be just a woman needing to feel like she was still attractive and desired from men. This small span of time she wanted to feel like Maria Deluca the teenager not Maria Deluca the mother.

Rath was thrown from her aggressive attack, which didn´t mean he didn´t like it that she took initiative. Burying his fingers in her hair he walked them backwards until they were stopped from the wall. Pressing her hard against the concrete he was pleased to hear her sharp intake of breath and the loud sound coming from her mouth. Trailing a wet path to her throat he was excited to feel her hands trying to open the fly of his jeans. Sucking her pulse point he moaned when she finally managed to free his raging cock from its prison and stroked the tip of his erection with her thump. Glancing at her he was stunned to realize that she wasn´t one for a long foreplay and wanted to come straight to the point, which was fine with him. He didn´t care as long as he was able to come. Ripping her pants down he held steady eye contact with her when he finally pushed into her. The gleam in her gaze was arousing him and he was sure that it wouldn´t take too long for him to be finished. Sliding one hand downwards he found her sensitive nub and started rubbing it furiously, enjoying the moans escaping her throat and rippling against his body. Watching her while she was in a state of bliss, he felt it wouldn´t be any longer until this was over and he wanted to see and feel her orgasm. Seconds later he got his wish and he had never witnessed something so beautiful than a woman in throe of her ecstasy. Spent he slumped against her, smelling the scent of sex surrounding them.

" That had been unusual", Maria felt embarrassed, wasted and alive at the same time, not believing that she had been having sex with someone in some dark corner of a motel without any worry that they could be discovered. She buried her face in his shoulder, not wanting to find out that they had been having an audience.

Rath chuckled weakly, not having the strength to do anything else. Now he finally understood his dupe, the chick was the shit and it was no wonder his other half had been so addicted to her, not even wanting to share her with another man. " That´s an understatement. That was f***ing awesome".

Maria smiled, feeling tingles all over her body and she knew it would take a while before she would be coming down from her high, one of the few perks of having an out of this world lover. Looking up she startled, because she was staring at some familiar eyes glaring furious at her. " Dean!".


	14. Chapter 14

" No, don´t say anything right now", Dean lifted his hand to prevent her from telling him some bullshit. Shaking his head at her, he turned around to go back to their room, all the while berating herself for caring so much. He could have spared to look for her, worrying that she could be in a danger and imagine the worst, although it was the worst that could happen. At least to him.

Maria had seen the hurt shining in his eyes and she felt bad, not wanting to be the one causing him any heartache. Pushing Rath away from him, she pulled her pants back up and straightened her hair. She had to clear that before it would destroy everything between them and she didn´t want to lose what she had with Dean because of a moment of pleasure. Glancing at Rath she felt guilty for appearing so ungrateful. " Thanks for the ride. Uhh...".

Rath stopped her before she could make promises she couldn´t keep. He hadn´t expected to have more with her and although he would have liked it to be different he knew that whatever had been going on with them was over now. " Go after him. And call me if you need my help".

" Thank you", kissing his cheek she stormed away, intent of mending things with Dean, no matter how angry he was with her and she knew how he was in that state. Stumbling into the room she shared with the boys the first thing she realized was that one brother was gone, the one she wanted to talk to while the other brother was looking at her in pity. " Where is he?".

Sam pointed at the bathroom door with his head, not knowing what had been happening when Dean had been out to search for their third member. All he knew was that his brother had been coming inside with a crestfallen expression and immediately locked himself in the bathroom. " What´s going on?".

Maria ignored the question and instead focused her attention on the man behind the door. She tried to sense what he was feeling right now, wanting to make sure that she wouldn´t get herself in danger when she approached him. But all she could feel was this emptiness and she feared the worst. Knowing that it could get ugly in the next few minutes she turned to Sam. " Take Alex and drive around with him for an hour. I think it will be safer if you both are gone".

" Do I have to worry?", Sam hated to feel so out of the known, especially when it was affecting people he loved. Something bad must have been happening to let both of his companions act so strange. Discovering the slight swollen lips and the pinkening of Maria´s cheeks he feared he realized what it was. Jumping to his feet he walk towards her, worried about her state. " Did my brother force himself on you?".

Maria shook her head, wondering how he could think something cruel about Dean. The guy was maybe a hot head and most of the time close to the edge, but he wouldn´t force her to do anything, probably because he knew that she would kill him painfully. But also because he was one of the good guys. " No, nothing like that. But I need a little time alone with him".

Sam noticed the sadness in her gaze and he was sure that it wouldn´t be smart to push. He would find out what it was that he had obviously missed one way or another. But not with this tactic or surely not now. Squeezing her shoulder a small smile appeared on her face. " Fine. But if you or Dean need any help you call me. I will be checking out what Meg is doing here".

" Thank you", Maria reminded herself to ask later when everything was over what they had figure out from Meredith and what the girl Sam had been meeting a while ago had to do with anything. But for now she was glad that he accepted her decision to not talk about what was going on. Waiting until he had been carefully picking up Alex and was out of the room, she turned to the closed door where Dean was hiding behind. Knocking quietly she listened for any sound, putting her forehead on the wood surface and hoping that he was giving her the chance to explain what he had seen. " I know that you´re in there. Please come out so that we can talk".

The only thing that followed for a few moments was silence on the other side. Then a quiet rustling and steps. But the door neither opened nor got unlocked in any way. Again there was a small silent moment before Dean spoke. " Leave me alone".

Maria had been expecting him to burst out and scream at her, raving and ranting like a lunatic. But this resigned tone in his voice was scaring her more than his more than explosive nature. She wasn´t used to this side of him and she hadn´t even been sure he had such a side. " I can´t. I´m afraid that if I don´t fix this thing between us I will lose you and I don´t want that".

" Yeah, you really showed me how much I mean to you today", Dean snorted angrily and it was the first sign that the storm wasn´t over, instead it was just at the beginning to break loose. Whatever there was still happening it was very apparent it would get really loud and heavy.

Maria closed her eyes at the dig in her direction and she felt her heart break a little, which surprised her. The last time words had been having such an effect on her Michael had been the one throwing them at her. And it made her realize how much she felt for Dean, even though she was still struggling with her love for her spaceboy. " Please come out. It´s just a misunderstanding".

Finally the door was forcefully opening and Maria almost fell down because of that. Catching herself in time she glanced up and walked backwards at seeing the fury in Dean´s face, twisting it in a ugly mask. He was coming towards her in big steps, appearing ready to rip her apart. " A misunderstanding? How can I misunderstand something there! You screwed some guy in the back of an alley, a guy you claimed you didn´t know! What is there to not understand? Hu?".

" Okay first of all I´m sorry for lying to you about him. But you´re always so strange when I start talking about Michael that I thought it was better if I shut my mouth about him", Maria felt intimated from him for the first time since she was travelling with the brothers. Not once she had been having the need to flee. Until now.

Dean was momentarily confused about that statement, wondering what her ex boyfriend had to do with everything. Remembering the picture he had been seeing from small article about the disappearance of a group of graduates in Roswell, it clicked that he had just had his first glimpse of his rival. " That had been him?".

Maria breathed a sigh of relieve as soon as she noticed that he was getting calmer. Maybe she could get him to listen to her and explain the situation. But she was afraid that he would start again when she told him about Rath. " Not exactly, it was his dupe. There had been two batches and he was one of the other set, kinda like Michael´s twin brother".

" There are two of his kind? Is there one more I need to know about or had it been everything?", Dean found it hard to try to measure up to one guy, he was sure that he couldn´t take two of them. It was already bad enough that he knew about the one hour orgasm she had told him about some night and although he wasn´t such a wimp in the sack he couldn´t compare with that. But now there was another man with the same traits and he knew that it would be harder for him to get through to her.

Maria sat down on the bed, feeling the need to give her legs a little rest and she was sure that he wouldn´t kill her, which made her realize that she didn´t need to be close to the door into freedom. Looking up at him she was slightly nervous about approaching the topic, but she knew it was necessary. " Okay, I give up. I need you to be straight honest with me here at this point because I know that you´re not acting so crazy because you want to watch out me. So I want to know what´s really behind your bad mood this past months".

Dean was torn between denying that something was even wrong with him and behave like usually or he could do something really drastic and be honest. Considering the way he was cheating through life and the many times he had lied to get what he wanted was making it hard for him to change his way of living. It was like a second nature to him to let out some sarcastic comment to overplay how it looked inside him. Strangly the only person he didn´t feel like he had to play an act was Maria. So he jumped over his stupid pride and took a seat besides her, ready to open himself up. Even if that meant he would scare her away because she wasn´t feeling the same. " All right, you want to know what´s going on, here is the truth. I don´t want to share you with other man, because I want you for myself. I´m so deeply in love with you that the thought of losing you to someone else is making me crazy. I know it sounds insane, but I fell in love with you the moment our eyes met in that fateful night when I almost drove you over. It had taken a long time for me to realize that I felt more towards you than friendship and even more time to accept the fact. And that´s all".

" I don´t know what to say", Maria was stunned about his courage to declare his love so openly to her without sounding too mushy or fake. She had to admit she found that he had proven that he was man enough to talk about his feelings, even if she knew that he would deny everything as soon as Sammy was with them again. But she admired his strength in that regard, because she didn´t had the strength. At least not yet.

Dean was grateful that she hadn´t run away, that had to be good sign and she hadn´t laughed at him, which meant there was still some hope. But he also knew that she didn´t have the same feelings for him, because then she would have told him that she was in love with him, too immediately. " You don´t have to say anything. It´s okay when you´re not sharing the same feelings".

Maria took his hands in hers, trying to find the right words to get across what was going inside her at his words. It wasn´t like she didn´t love him back and dreamed about having more with him, but she was still so heart broken over Michael that she needed time to get over him before she could think about starting a new relationship. " It´s not about that. If we would have met under different circumstances you would have needed a crowbar to get rid of me. You´re exactly the kind of guy I wish for myself. But I´m still hurt from my last relationship and I need time to work my way through that. If you really love me that much like you say, then you´ll wait until I´m ready".

" Are you saying what I mean you´re saying?", Dean couldn´t believe what he heard and he wanted to be sure that he understood everything correctly before already thinking about ways to make her heart heal quicker. He was glad to have opened up to her and get out what had bothered him for months now. He finally felt better again, but it didn´t mean he would start sharing every feeling. He wasn´t Sammy after all.

Maria smiled at him while she saw him reverting to his cocky self again. Damn he was quicker to please than she thought. If she would have known how fast she could get him to be normal again she would have gotten him to talk sooner. " Yeah. You´re not alone with your feelings. Just give it time".

Dean smirked seductively at her under the impression that he could cut the chase and get to the core. Bending towards her he was intent on kissing her wonderful lips. Unfortunately she pushed him away from her, shaking her head at him. " What?".

" You´re impossible. I can´t believe I told you something in the first place", standing up Maria went in the direction of the window to check the outside before she kicked his ass for trying that stunt with her. That guy was unbelievable, so damn much that she found it hard to resist. Glancing on the street she saw Rath still standing at the corner and watching the area around him, a cigarette gleaming in the darkness. As soon as he noticed that someone was looking at him he gazed at her. For a moment he appeared worried, but then he grinned at her and saluted. Turning around he walked away, flicking the cigarette on the ground.

Dean was just in the process to follow her and maybe annoy her a little more when his cell phone started ringing. Picking it up from the bed spread he had been dropping it on, he was confused to read that Sam was calling. Immediately lifting it at his ear he was slightly afraid that it was bad news. " What´s up?".

" _Is Alex with you?I had been checking out Meg and when I came back he was gone. Please tell me he´s with you now"._

Dean shoot Maria a worried glance, which she instantly picked up on and stormed at his side to try to hear something from the converation, hoping that it wasn´t so bad like the gaze from Dean had been telling. " No. He´s not here".

" _Damn I was fearing that. Oh god what I´m gonna do, Maria will rip me to shreds before killing me", suddenly there was another noise in the background, sounding distinctly like the gibberish from a child. " Forget it. I found him. And he´s fine"._

Dean noticed that his heart was beating again, he had been fearing that their small soldier had been kidnapped or abducted and already making plans to destroy the city in his haste to find the little cookie. " Dude, you´re like freaking scared me. Don´t do that to me ever again".

" _Sorry man. If I just have you on the phone right now, we have to check out this warehouse Meg had been in. There was this altar and she was talking to someone in a goblet with some fluid in it. It was totally strange"._

Dean exchanged a confused glance with Maria, wondering if Sam had been drinking when he mentioned the girl talking into a goblet. Repressing their smiles they turned their attention back to the boy on the other end. " Okay, come here and we both see what´s going on in the building. And keep an eye on Alex on the way here".

" _Dude, that was so not my fault. The kid is faster than me. And now he´s laughing at me, can you believe it. I swear if he wouldn´t be so cute I would be very pissed. Damn kid, you´re just as bad as your mommy"._

" Hey I heard that. Wait until you come home", Maria mocking glared at the phone, knowing that Sam couldn´t see it. But she was sure he would feel it over the line and feel bad, as usual when she shot her death glare in his direction.

" _I think that´s my cue to hang up. See you in a bit"._

Dean shut his cellphone, putting it in the back of his jeans pocket and went to retrieve his jacket. His brother would be coming soon and he didn´t want to waste any time. Even though he didn´t think anything bad about Meg, he trusted Sammies instinct and if the guy was worried he was worried, too. " You stay here with Alex until we come and get you".

Maria imitated him, of course behind his back and slightly overdone. Moving her hand like it was a mouth she was mimicking the was always talking to her. She knew the standard line for her. Stay back and keep safe. She wanted a little of that action, too. It had been too long since she had been able to kick demon ass. Seeing Dean turning to her, she immediately tried to appear innocent, smiling brightly at him. " Yes sir, drill sergeant".

" Sam is right, Alex got all the bad traits from you", he shoved his gun in the back of his waistband and pulled the jacket over it, not wanting anyone to see that he was loaded and that quite literally. Giving her a stern look he saw the pout slowly forming and he knew that it was time to leave before he weakened and get a bad idea like taking her with them. " Lock the door when you come back and don´t let anyone in".

Maria walked towards him to give him the dagger she had been receiving from her father, which was told had been made to kill all evil. She could be overprotective, too and especially with her boys. " Take it. But if you lose my baby you don´t have to come back ever again".

Dean smiled down at her, founding her way to take care of them cute. He hadn´t known how nice it was to have someone at his side that was so concerned about his well being and worried about the safety of him and his brother. Bending down he gave her a short kiss, nothing sexual but enough to let a few sparks fly around. " I´ll be careful with it, I promise".

" Yeah, yeah. Heard that sentence before", Maria turned away from him to hide the fact that her cheeks were flaming up. It had been a long time that anyone shown so much interest in her. Taking her jacket herself she made her way outside, hearing the Impala roaring in the parking lot. Hurring in the direction of the black car she was relieved to see her son lying peaceful in Sam´s arms. " Oh sweety", taking Alex in her arms she was so glad that he wasn´t aware of the danger around him. " I swear this child could sleep through a hurricane".

Sam glanced at her like he wanted to say that he got that from his mother. But he refrained from getting beat up after the scare of having lost the little man and he noticed his brother coming towards them, clearly in a better mood than he had seen him in months. " I see the motel is still standing and your both alive. Which means hopefully the storm is over".

Dean let his gaze linger a little on Maria, wriggling his right eyebrow seductively in her direction, making her throw him a nasty look in return. But under all that fake flirting was something serious blossoming. And if he had to wait for her to be ready for him than he would do it as long as she needed. " Yeah, the air is cleared".

" Thank god", Sam was in particular sure that he wouldn´t have able to live with them if they would have continued with the way their were acting towards each other. They were driving him and everyone else around them crazy, even Jack had noticed the tension and had said they should either fight it out or act on it.

Maria raised an eyebrow, staring him down with her scolding look she had practised in front of the mirror for when she would need it on Alex. Unfortunately she couldn´t cross her arms over her chest because her son was sleeping soundlessly there. But she was sure her eyes were having the same affect. " You´re a riot Sammy", she knew he hated to be called like that and before he could reply something she turned to Dean. " Be careful, both of you. Don´t let yourself get killed and have fun hunting".

Dean winked at her, making a last attempt to appear sexy and irrestistable. Sadly she just rolled her eyes at him, trying to hide her amusement about his rather bad flirting. Shaking his head he got inside his baby, knowing that it was the only thing appreciating him. Seconds later his brother followed and with a last salute they were gone.

" I swear if you start becoming like him we will have a serious talk", Maria told her sleeping son, who had snuggled closer to his mother but other than that hadn´t moved. She was amazed how obvious he could be to his enviroment, sleeping through the loudest noise and not even flinching when they heard a horrofying scream, which even scared her shitless. Walking back in their room she wondered how long this stage would last and when he started asking questions and realized that bad things were outside. She hoped she could protect him long enough to let him in the believe that the world was beautiful and peaceful. Opening the door she immediately froze when a gun was held to her head.

**San Fransisco**

Michael was working as a barkeeper in some joint that was called Club Hell and the name wasn´t exaggerating in any kind. It was hell, because there were usually so much people in this place that no one could even turn around, making the air pregnant with the smell of sweat, beer, smoke and sometimes even blood. Bar fights were normal and happened most of the times in his shift. He was probably the only one not even startling as soon as two guys were going at it, silently betting who would be the last to stand in the end. He hated to be here and more than sometimes he wished he would be somewhere else, but it was that or cook in some fast food restaurant and he had enough to smell like old grease and food, even though the scent from him now wasn´t any better. Glancing around he spotted Kyle in the crowd, trying unsuccessful to get Isabel to dance to the music, but the Princess wasn´t so into rock and so she kept seated, nipping at her water and watching her company making a fool out of himself. Michael wondered when they would finally admit to everyone that they were more than just friends. They both had been spending so much time together that it wasn´t such a surprise that feelings would grow, especially when he knew about Kyle being in love with Isabel for quite some time now, he thought it was even before they ran away from Roswell. Chuckling quietly he forgot for a moment the pain of losing that feeling forever, but now that they saw so much couples around he remembered that the only person he had loved had cut their connection to each other. It had been really painful and he had needed a few moments to figure out what had happened, having thought he was getting a heartattack. Sadly it was only the feeling of getting his heart removed, which was harder than he had imagined it. Even if he and Maria had been apart or were fighting, the connection between them had always been intact and the thought that she was there had calmed him. But now he didn´t even have that anymore and it made him realize that she really was involved with that guy and she burned all her bridges from her past life.

" Hey Brody! Hello! Are you still there!".

Michael snapped out of his trance and stared at Candy, one of the female waitresses working at this place. He wasn´t used to his new name, even though he had picked that one out himself, but he would probably still need some time to get familiar with the name. Glancing at the blonde in front of him he noticed that her shirt showed more than it was hidding. She always wore such clothes, probably thinking that she could pick him up with that. Since he started to work here she had been hitting on him nonstop. Although the girl was hot and obviously not too shy, he had always kept a distance to her, because she wasn´t Maria. " Yeah I´m there. What gives?".

Candy put her tray on the counter between two guys checking out her backside and bent closer to the barkpeeper. Chewing her bubble gum seductively she gave the guy behind the counter a good view into her cleavage. " My roommate is sleeping with her boyfriend tonight and the apartement is so scary when I´m alone in it. Care to join me?".

Michael pondered that question, torn between listening to his hormones which were clearly ready for some action and his mind, which was telling him to sort through his feelings before starting something new. But Candy didn´t look like a girl that just wanted to cuddle or watch a movie and if he slept with her wouldn´t exactly mean they were together. Besides he could have some fun, too. Maria moved on and it was time for him to do the same. " Sure".

TBC


End file.
